Fujikawa Maru Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Fujikawa Maru

What To Expect On A Fujikawa Maru Liveaboard

Liveaboards diving the Fujikawa Maru, in Micronesia, will transport divers to one of the many Japanese Naval ships which sunk in in WWII and have now become an impressive wreck dive. This ship in particular was a cargo and passenger ship which had been transported to Chuuk lagoon for repairs when in 1944 operation Hailstone, and attack by the Americans, sunk it through a torpedo strike, along with many more ships and aircrafts. After so many years of being submerged, it has created its own, tiny, ecosystem with many different species for divers to admire and because of this it has become the most popular wreck dive in Chuuk Lagoon. There are currently 2 liveaboards that operate cruises to dive on the Fujikawa Maru.

What You Can See

Fujikawa Maru measures at 133m (437ft) and due to it still standing upright, divers get a full visual of the whole structure. The depth it lies at rages from 5m (15ft) down to 37m (120ft) and the deck lies at 18m (60ft) which means that certified divers of all leveler able to dive around the wreck. The outside of the wreck is decorated with many colourful soft corals, large heads of hard corals and sea sponges of all shapes and sizes. There is silt all around and inside the wreck, so do be careful when swimming, to minimize the amount that is stirred as that will drastically affect the visibility which is usually around 25m (75ft).

If you want to penetrate the wreck whilst on your liveaboard cruise, then you will have to be a certified wreck diver, but luckily if you're not then you can still see a lot just swimming around it. You will be able to see the impressive bow gun and the two fighter aircrafts which are inside of the holdings. If you are able to penetrate this wreck you will be able to swim through the engine room and other storage and work areas. Here you will see many artifacts including artillery. Unfortunately the wreck is damaged in some places due to dynamite fishing, but this does allow for divers to see more of the inside of the wreck. As for marine wildlife you will see, this wreck inhabits large schools of Jacks and Barracuda and there are often very curious Grey Reef Sharks hanging around.

Getting To Fujikawa Maru

Chuuk lagoon, where Fujikawa Maru is located, is in the Caroline Islands within the Federation of Micronesia, and can be accessed on a Micronesia liveaboard the capital city of the state of Chuuk is Weno where a third of the entire Chuuk state population live. Weno has an international airport called Chuuk International Airport. There are only three airlines which fly to Chuuk, with the main route being via Guam from Honolulu with United Airlines. They are not multiple flights a day so you definitely need to check flights so you are not stopping over in Guam for lengthy layovers. Once in Weno there are multiple dive shops with which you can go on day trips to the lagoon or you can join a liveaboard which will also spend some days in the area and then you can visit many of the sites. But please do remember to check any requirements for a liveaboard.