Irako

War grave: Japanese refrigeration ship (about 147 m) sunk in the 24 Sep 1944 raid by US Task Force 38; she was already damaged before reaching Coron Bay. She lies at the mouth of the bay with the deck at about 28–35 m and the bottom near 43 m, and often has the best visibility of the Coron wrecks. Large and mostly intact, with deep engine-room penetration for trained divers.

Facts

• Region: Coron Bay & Busuanga – Palawan
• Area: Coron Bay wrecks
• Depth: 28–43 m
• Level: advanced
• Current: low
• Type: wreck
• Coordinates: 11.96765, 120.0402 (approximate)
• Highlights: refrigeration ship, engine room, jacks, groupers, large ray, lionfish
• Permit: Wreck dives are done with a Coron dive operator, who collects the local/marine-park fees as part of the package (Pirates Diving Center states marine park and entry fees are included in its listed prices; the amounts and whether a separate municipal tourism fee applies were not verified from an official source). Taking anything from the wrecks is not allowed.
• Issuer / contact: Your Coron dive operator (collects local fees)
• Tips: Advanced Open Water plus Deep Diver, Wreck Diver for the engine room. Silt rises fast if you fin hard. Wrecks are war graves: look, photograph, take nothing. Remaining munitions: do not touch.

Sources

• https://piratescoron.com/dive-sites/
• https://philippinesislandhopping.com/blog/shipwreck-diving-in-coron/
• https://www.starfish.ch/dive/print/Sangat-print.html
• https://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/the-shipwrecks-of-coron-wreck-diving-philippines/
• https://californiadiver.com/attack-on-coron-bay-exploring-world-war-ii-shipwrecks-in-the-philippines-518/