IJN
Freighter
Tons
6,353
Length
158m
Ship History
Freighter carrying
construction materials for building an airfiled.
Sinking History
Sunk into Coron Bay.
Shipwreck
Lying on her starboard side in 36 meters of water the Kogyo
Maru offers swim thorough into all six holds and through the
engine room and bridge area. Kogyo Maru's second hold contains
an incline of cement bags which tumbled as the ship sank. A
small bulldozer draws your attention as you swim into the hold.
Complete but encrusted, you can imagine the operator sitting
in the seat and working the control levers to carve a runway
out of a tropical island. Engrossed in the bulldover you might
fail to look up the incline of cement sacks and so miss the
tractor and air compressor perched above it.
Take the time to swim up and look at both pieces and see how many of the engine parts you can identify. It's complete. Check out the metal wheels on the tractor. Coming out of the hold swim up the front mast, now horizontal, and on your left side. At the top of the mast look at the crow's nest and imagine what a lookout would experience when perched 30 meters above the water in a Japanese winter storm. Swim back over the deck to the bridge and engine room below it. Enter both from the stern side for easier access.
Swim through the cavernous engine room and look at the hardware then out through the bridge. If air is low go up to the port side of the bridge and look at the soft corals growing there and the fish life living on this artificial coral reef at 22 meters. If you have enough air continue below deck level to the stern looking at all of the deck hardware for moving cargo and working the ship. Pass around the stern and then go forward over the port side to return to the mooring line. You pass over hard and soft corals covering the side of the ship. On this dive keep your head and eyes moving like a fighter pilot's to see the school of barracuda which will swim by. If you only look at the Kogyo Maru you will miss the barracuda.
34m bottom
