Usukan Bay WWII wrecks (Kokusei Maru, Higane Maru, Hiyori Maru) - largely destroyed 2017
Largely destroyed: the three Japanese cargo ships sunk by an American submarine on 1 Oct 1944 (Kokusei Maru, Higane Maru and Hiyori Maru, known to divers as the Rice Bowl, Upside Down and Usukan wrecks) were salvaged in January 2017 for university research; divers reported two of them '98 and 99 per cent gone' and the Rice Bowl reduced to a ball of metal. Before that the roughly 150 m wrecks lay with tops at about 25 m on a sandy bottom at about 40 m, with torpedo damage and cargo such as bowls and bottles. No post-2017 report on what remains or on diving permission was found. These are also war graves; position is an estimate only.
Facts
- Region: Kota Kinabalu, Usukan, Mantanani & Layang Layang - Sabah, Malaysia
- Area: Usukan Bay (Kota Belud)
- Depth: 25–40 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 6.405, 116.3 (approximate)
- Highlights: Japanese WWII wreck, rice bowls, groupers, barracuda, snapper
- Unverified: Exact positions and current condition after the 2017 salvage are not published; the point is an estimate off Usukan, Kota Belud.
- Tips: Check with a Kota Kinabalu operator (e.g. Downbelow lists Usukan Bay among its trips) whether anything is still diveable. Old reports: no marker buoys, found by GPS and depth sounder; calmest months April, May, September; NE monsoon (Nov-Feb) and typhoons disrupt. Depth to 40 m means Advanced/Deep training and nitrox were recommended.