Hoki Maru
Cargo ship (about 7,100 t) lost at the Fourth Fleet anchorage on 16–17 Feb 1944; aviation fuel stored forward exploded and destroyed most of the bow. Nicknamed the 'Bulldozer Ship': the holds contain bulldozers, tractors, steam rollers and trucks on two levels, and the stern with its huge propellers and rudder lies at about 50 m. Grey reef and blacktip reef sharks patrol around the props.
Facts
- Region: Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon – Micronesia
- Area: Fourth Fleet anchorage (east of Dublon)
- Depth: 21–50 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 7.363389, 151.91109
- Highlights: bulldozers, trucks, steam rollers, grey reef sharks, blacktip reef shark, jacks, batfish
- Permit: A Chuuk State dive permit is required for every dive on the wartime wrecks (Chuuk Lagoon State Monument): US$50, valid one year, as listed by Odyssey Adventures, SS Thorfinn and the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop rate sheet (the older state-code text says US$30, so confirm when booking). Under the state code the permit is sold by the licensed dive shops/operators, who collect the fee for the state, and divers must go with a certified guide from a licensed shop. All Japanese ships and aircraft sunk before 31 Dec 1945 are protected monuments and war graves: taking or damaging anything is illegal (fine up to US$1,000 and/or six months in prison under the state code).
- Issuer / contact: Chuuk Visitors Bureau (CVB)
- Phone: +691 330-4133
- Email: executivedirector@visitchuuk.com
- Website: https://visitchuuk.com/contact-information
- CVB is the Chuuk State tourism office and is listed here as the official contact for visitor information; the permit itself is sold by the licensed dive operators (Chuuk State code Title 25 ch. 8, text at https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mic79052.pdf). Operators (Thorfinn, Odyssey, Blue Lagoon) list US$50.
- Tips: Stern and props are at about 50 m, so plan technical or deco dives; fuel and caustic residues still seep from the wreck. Wrecks are war graves – look, photograph, take nothing. Some cargo (shells, mines, bombs) is unstable: do not touch it.