IJN
Navy
auxiliary &
Repair Ship
Dimensions
422' long
Tons
5,110
Crew
25 KIA
Andrew Wright 1994
Sinking History
The Hakkai Maru was making repairs to a Japanese cruiser
near New Georgia. Then it sought refuge at Rabaul
after the cruiser it had been repairing was sunk by Allied bombers.
Less than an hour after reaching anchor in Simpson Harbor, B-25 Mitchells sank the ship
on January 17, 1943 at 5:40pm with a skip bombing attack.
Recovery of Artifacts & Display
A number of other relics collected by divers from the wreck are
also on display at Rabaul's Kokopo
War Museum. One item is the ship's clock, stopped at
1740, the moment the ship sank.
A diver decompression chamber was bolted to the foredeck, 5' long and 10', including nickel etched dive tables bolted inside. An attempt to salvage it was made in 1971, documented by a Japanese film crew. Later salvaged by Jim Forrest and abandoned at Pat Robert's yard along Blanch Bay where it remained until the 1980s.
Shipwreck
Hakkai Maru rested upright, with her stern in 80ft and the bridge
in 100ft of water. Beautiful coral growth covered her superstructure,
king post and hull. The stern had the coral encrusted anti-aircraft
gun.
The Hakkai Maru's cargo holds are full of machinery. Drills, lathes, presses, welders, and every imaginable type of metal working machines lined the decks on all levels. Everything from hull plates to torpedoes.
During the 1994 volcano eruption, the shipwreck was covered in ash, and is no longer
diveable.
References
National Geographic "Ghosts of War In the South Pacific" page 435 - 436
References
The Last New Guinea Salvage Pirate, pages 134 - 136
80 - 170'
