Coron Wrecks

Coron Bay Japanese Shipwrecks

A Japanese naval supply fleet sunk by US air raids in September 1944. More than a dozen wrecks, each over 100 metres long, lie 10 to 40 metres deep in Coron Bay. They are covered in coral and teeming with fish, making them some of the best wreck dive sites in Asia.

On September 24, 1944, carrier-based US aircraft raided the Japanese Navy supply fleet anchored in Coron Bay and around Busuanga Island, sinking more than a dozen vessels in a single day. The wrecks have remained in the positions they sank in and form a world-class wreck diving site. The highlights include Okikawa Maru (a 160-metre oil tanker lying 10 to 26 metres deep, where you can swim through the engine room and corridors, making it the most popular wreck); Irako (a refrigerated supply ship, the most intact, lying 28 to 42 metres deep and suited to advanced divers); Akitsushima (a seaplane tender lying on its side, where you can see cranes and anti-aircraft guns); Olympia Maru and Kogyo Maru (cargo ships lying 22 to 34 metres deep, with cement bags and a bulldozer in the holds); and the Lusong and East Tangat gunboats (shallow, at 3 to 20 metres, accessible for snorkeling). There is also Skeleton Wreck close to Coron Island (5 to 22 metres deep, where you can see the keel while snorkeling), a regular snorkeling stop on Coron island-hopping tours. The wrecks are covered in soft corals, sea fans and sponges, and are home to glassfish, lionfish, groupers and occasionally sea turtles. Penetrating the cabins requires a Wreck Specialty certification and good buoyancy control. Costs: Coron town has more than a dozen dive shops. Two- or three-dive day trips cost about ₱3,500 to 5,500 (including boat, equipment and lunch). The Wreck Specialty course costs about ₱10,000 to 15,000, and the Open Water certification about ₱18,000 to 22,000. Non-divers can join an island-hopping tour that includes snorkeling at Skeleton Wreck and the Lusong gunboat. Getting there: the wreck sites are 30 minutes to 1.5 hours by boat from the Coron town pier. Notes: most wrecks are deeper than 18 metres and require AOW or equivalent experience. Penetrating the wrecks requires a guide. Visibility drops to 5 to 10 metres in the rainy season. Do not fly within 18 hours of diving. Flights from Busuanga Airport mostly depart in the morning, so stop diving a day in advance. The coordinates mark the approximate centre of the Coron Bay wreck area.

Coron Wrecks

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