Unkai Maru No. 6
One of the oldest ships in the lagoon: a 3,200-t freighter built in 1905 as the British SS Venus, hit by an aerial torpedo and bombs on 17–18 Feb 1944 and now resting upright. She has a prominent bow gun, an accessible engine room, coral-covered masts and great numbers of glassfish. Found by Klaus Lindemann in 1980.
Facts
- Region: Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon – Micronesia
- Area: Uman & southern lagoon
- Depth: 18–40 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 7.3225, 151.8845
- Highlights: bow gun, engine room, glassfish, coral-covered masts
- 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: Operator map places her about 2.4 km north-east of Uman, while another guide says '600 m north of Uman'.
- Tips: Depth to about 40 m; the engine room is a favourite. Wrecks are war graves – look, photograph, take nothing. Some cargo (shells, mines, bombs) is unstable: do not touch it.