Oite
Kamikaze-class destroyer (1,422 t) that rescued 523 survivors of the cruiser Agano and was torpedoed by a Bunker Hill aircraft while entering Truk through North Pass on 18 Feb 1944; she broke in half and sank almost at once, taking nearly all of her crew and all the Agano survivors with her (Wikipedia: 172 of 192 crew lost). Found in March 1986 at about 61 m, the bow section lies upside down with the bridge buried in mud and the stern section upright at about 55 m, with little marine growth, a 4.7-inch gun and AA guns. Pacific Wrecks reports human remains everywhere in and around the wreck – a war grave and a technical dive.
Facts
- Region: Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon – Micronesia
- Area: North Pass & outer reef
- Depth: 55–61 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 7.628229, 151.823462 (approximate)
- Highlights: destroyer, deep wreck, 4.7-inch gun, anti-aircraft guns, war grave
- 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.
- Unverified: Pin is the operator map marker (7.628 N 151.823 E); Pacific Wrecks places the sinking in North Pass at about 7°40' N (its longitude is a typo) and Wikipedia gives no position, so only the latitude/North Pass area is corroborated.
- Tips: Technical-only war grave (about 55–61 m); the main lagoon moorings are far away, so ask which operators run the North Pass trip. Wrecks are war graves – look, photograph, take nothing. Some cargo (shells, mines, bombs) is unstable: do not touch it.