Nippo Maru
Japanese water carrier and cargo ship (3,764 t) sunk in the Fourth Fleet anchorage east of Dublon on 17–18 Feb 1944 (Operation Hailstone); Cousteau's 1969 team found her upright with a port list. On deck and in the forward holds lie a light tank, coastal-defence guns, mines, shells, gas masks and trucks, with a photogenic bridge and masts rising toward shallower water. Grey reef sharks and schools of jacks are often seen around the wreck.
Facts
- Region: Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon – Micronesia
- Area: Fourth Fleet anchorage (east of Dublon)
- Depth: 24–47 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 7.383055, 151.918888
- Highlights: light tank, deck guns, trucks, mines, grey reef sharks, jacks, tuna, soft coral
- 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: Max depth about 47 m: deep-diver training or technical gas recommended. Penetration needs wreck training. Wrecks are war graves – look, photograph, take nothing. Some cargo (shells, mines, bombs) is unstable: do not touch it.