Ship History
This vessel is possibly Auxiliary Minesweeper #5 or Hosho Maru.

Sinking History
Sunk in Kapingamarangi Lagoon, possibly in November 1943.

Shipwreck
Rest on the starboard side on a sandy bottom.

Ken DaVico adds:
"The ship I dove on is sitting upright. It is about 40 feet to the deck as I was only free diving. The ship I dove will no longer have a binnacle or at least the binnacle will be partially unbolted. It is sitting firmly on its bottom. I free dove into the pilot house. I found the ship with the aid of a local on my last day there in 1970. I am thinking it showed evidence of taking a bomb on the stern but just can't pull it out of my memory to be certain. I provided the info on the ship to a Frenchman named "Patric" He was doing a round the world cruise on a sailboat and i met him on the Ham Radio freq while he was leaving Rabaul. He heard me talking and wanted to know about Guam where I was living at the time. during our conversation I mentioned to him that he should go north to Kapingi on his way. Patric told me that Like me he swam the ship and figured it to be 240 feet long."

References
Thanks to Ken DaVico for additional information

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Last Updated
November 17, 2023