News from the Ships’s Log
You are looking for good reasons to dive Truk Lagoon with the SS Thorfinn, keep on reading! Your advantages of living aboard this converted whaler in a nutshell: Located in the very heart of Truk Lagoon Less weather exposed The ship has a huge tonnage and is very stable Less likely to get seasick Your…
The Sankisan Maru in Truk Lagoon is one of the finest coral and artifact sites. This small to medium sized freighter with brimming holds of ordinance and ammunition, was originally anchored close off Uman Island’s west shores, cowering close to other larger empty ships drawing the American’s main concentration of bombs and torpedos. Her Captain…
Seiko Maru The SS Seiko Maru was launched July 17, 1940 for original owners, Dairen Steamship Co. as a modern cargo vessel of a then unique design with engines aft rather than amidships. This design offered increased cargo hold space eliminating a space robbing propeller shaft tunnel and a need for extended shaft and…
On April 29th 1944 the American Task Force 58 launched their second major attack on Truk Lagoon. Although there had been a number of land based B-24 bombing runs on Truk from Rabaul the Japanese had managed to bring in a number of reinforcements. The Americans believed that taking the Lagoon would be too difficult…
The Hoki Maru is another wreck sitting upright in the Fourth Fleet Anchorage loaded with cargo. At the time of the US attacks she was carrying a large amount of aviation fuel in the forward holds which caused a huge explosion now leaving only remains of the forward part of this ex-New Zealand ship. On…
This extremely large wreck sits on its starboard side in shallow water meaning coral growth is heavy on the port beam and marine life is plentiful. With the largest bow and stern guns on offer in Truk, the Rio De Janeiro was the after lunch dive on this particularly beautiful afternoon on the lagoon. As…
The Nippo Maru is always a great dive due to its relatively shallow depth providing plenty of coral growth, its proximity to the main islands providing pelagic action and the huge amount of war memorabilia and ship remains including tanks, trucks and stacks of guns and ammunition. So this morning, after some preparation, we made…
On a windy day here in Truk Lagoon, the Aikoku Maru is close by and makes for a more comfortable 10 minute boat ride. After anchoring, we were secure on the wreck and with safety checks done, the ascent onto this deep, legendary technical site was magnificent. Schools of barracuda, dogtooth tuna and jacks flooded…
We decided this morning would be a good day to try for this deep, medium sized ex-cargo freighter lying on even keel in 50m of clear blue water. It can be difficult to hook as it is positioned between two ridges but after a 10 minute boat journey on this beautifully calm, still day, we…
One of the less publicised attacks on Truk was a raid carried out by a British led task group on the 14th – 15th June 1945. By this time Truk had been neutralised as a major threat to operations in the Pacific and ‘Operation Inmate’ as the attack was called wasn’t much more than a…
