A special place for divers who like wreck diving is Coron Bay close to Sangat island in Busuanga (North Palawan, Philippines). I have visited this dive area twice (2000 and 2003) and I was impressed by beautifully covered wrecks They are in excellent condition and lie at depths that can be reached by sport divers (you can take Nitrox courses at the dive resort) and the dive guides know a lot about where to find all kinds of rare animals. We stayed both times at Sangat island - it is like staying in a paradise - very quiet but a nice little beach, comfortable bungalows and good food.
Please take note, that all dives on the wrecks have to be planned very carefully. I personally think a dive computer is a must, because it is very easy to get close to deco-time! There are buoys with lines on all wrecks and our dive guide always had a tank with a regulator hanging at 5m depth under the dive boat .
Our deepest dive was 35m to 39m on Irako where we did a very difficult dive through the kitchen and workrooms and 36m on Akitsushima where we dived through the large rent of the ship and past wheels, pipes and electric wires. I recommend these dives only for experienced divers. Just stay on the deck of these wrecks and enjoy the abundant life there!
On this page: travelogue about all the wrecks around Sangat Island (or Tangat island) with maps and links to my photos. Sangat island - Maps (Busuanga and Culion / wreck area) - My favorite wrecks - Other wrecks to dive - Other dive sites - History of the wrecks - History of Culion
This map is drawn to my best knowledge but if you have better information as far as the position of the wrecks is concerned, please write to , thanks.
One wreck (1: Kyokuzan Maru) lies near Cabilauan in the north, another (2: Nanshin Maru) near Black Beach, Malajon island in the east of Busuanga. The bulk of the wrecks can be found between the islands of Sangat, Lusong and Manglet.
Sangat Island / Wrecks: 1. Taiei Maru (Okikawa) / 2. Akistushima / 3. Ekkai Maru (ex Olympia Maru, ex Morazon) / 4. Irako / 5. Kogyo Maru / 6. Olympia Maru (ex Tangat Wreck) / 7. Tangat Gunboat / 8. Lusong wreck / 9. Skeleton Wreck / 10. Fishing Boat / Reefs, lake and cave: 1. Housereef Sangat / 2. Dynamite reef (near Culion) / 3. Barracuda Lake / 4. Cathedral Cave
About the names: During the 3 years between my first and my second visit to Coron Bay some of the names of the wrecks have been changed. The dive operators don't seem to agree on some names, so I mentioned all of them here.
On this page you will find only small drawings of the wrecks, more to illustrate possible ways how to dive on the wrecks. Larger illustrations can be found on other sites in the Internet: Sangat Island (references see description of wrecks below) / Discovery Divers (small drawings, some photos). Most GPS numbers were taken by my dive buddy Broschi. Please note, that GPS (global positioning system) datum is not the same as Luzon datum (on the maps), there are small differences.
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to see:
Animals to see: |
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to see:
Animals to see: Andy Pownell from Sangat island Resort has found a small boat about 50 m from the Akitsushima, probably a landing boat. There might be other parts of ships or planes lying undiscovered in the Coron Bay, most probably quite small though. |
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to see:
Animals to see: |
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to see:
Animals to see: |
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to see:
Animals to see: |
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History: Possible dives on the wreck and things to
see: Animals to see: |
Sangat Gun Boat wreck: (photo, GPS N 11° 58,452´ / E 120° 04,773´) Small gun boat or submarine hunter, 43m long, lying from 3m to 19m deep. Very easy dive. Small reef close by. Good for night dive. We found interesting crabs and shrimps and even a Harlekin ghost pipe fish!
Lusong wreck CH32: (drawing, GPS N 11° 58,255´ / E 120° 01,453´) is a Japanese subchaser. The stern brakes the surface at low tide. Max. depth 10m. Length 35m. This wreck is very open and sponges and corals cover it nicely. We saw a huge cuttlefish and some moray eels. Also good for snorkeling.
(I haven't visited the following wrecks)
Nanshin Maru wreck (Black island beach): (photo and drawing, GPS N 12° 09,298´ / E 119° 49,193´) It is a Japanese tanker / oiler, ca. 40-50m long and lies not very deep. This is a nicely covered wreck and can be reached from Coron by daytrip.
Kyokuzan wreck: (drawing, GPS N 12° 09,810´ / E 120° 09,249´) It is a Japanese army cargo ship and 136m long. Min depth 10m / max. depth 41m. Cars and trucks can be found in the cargo holds. This is supposed to be a very nice wreck. Unfortunately it lies in the north of Busuanga and dive operators from Coron visit it rarely and only if they have a larger group of divers. I have heard, that Club Paradise Resort offers trip there (this resort is far from the other wreks) and the liveboards visit this wreck also.
Landing craft wreck (Malcatop island): (photo) Starts at 2m to max. depth 18m. Lies on coral reef.
Fishing boat wreck (recent): (photo) Ca. 35m long, max. depth 16m.
Sangat Housereef: Probably most divers visiting Sangat island prefer the wrecks to this small reef. My dive buddy Broschi and I made a very nice night dive though and found some very interesting animals like decorator crabs and Skeleton shrimps (Caprella sp.). You can also do some snorkeling during the day - nothing spectacular - but look for the jawfish near the rocks! They are huge!
Dynamite Reef: This dive site lies on the way from Sangat to Culion city. The reefs around Sangat island have suffered some from coral bleaching. But this reef is still very nice. We saw many different nudibranchs, fish, anemones and a rare species of tunicates (Neptheis).
Barracuda Lake (Cayangan lake, Coron island): There are interesting and bizzare underwater limestone formations to be seen. To dive at this lake you have to climb up a very steep incline. The top 4m of the lake water is fresh sweet water, below it is salt water. Temperatures range from 28 to 42 degrees Celsius. At approx. 35m the water changes from clear water to a brown color. There is a large barracuda who lives in the lake.
Cathedral Cave (Coron island south): Steep drop off to 30m, cave on 7m. About 20m long tunnel with large underwater cave where you can surface. I don't know this place, but it is said to be very nice.
Look at those historical shots taken (click for larger picture) from a helldiver plane during the attack on the Japanese in Coron Bay and after with smoke all over (from photos provided by Sangat island resort).
Numbers on the photos: 1= Akistushima / 9= Irako / 11= Olympia Maru (do you know which numbers correspond to which ship? Please write to .
Copy of aircraft action reports by the commanding officers (for other reports look at the booklet mentioned below)
Located about 170 nautical miles southwest of Manila, Coron
Bay allegedly was safe as an assembly area. Some ships actually transfered from
Manila after a warning. 12 (or 18?) Japanese freighters and warships were anchoring
in Coron bay.
At 6:00 am on 24. September 1944, 80 Grumman H6F Hellcat and Curtis SB2C Helldiver
planes took off from carriers commanded by of vice admiral William F. Halsey's
38th Task Force and headed for Coron. At the time this was the longest range
for a air attack ever launched from aircraft carriers. They started approx.
340 miles (over 500km) from target, over 120 planes met in midair and then went
on to Busuanga. Some planes were airborne for more than 6 hours. Several planes
were lost after running out of fuel on the return trip and some shot down by
guns from the Japanese fleet and from gun placements on the islands around Coron
Bay.
At 9:00 am the planes reached Coron and located the 12 (or 18?) large Japanese
vessels and started their attacks. After a 40 minute attack the planes left,
leaving a scene of devastation behind. The main concentration of the ships were
sunk in the bay in between Sangat island and Lusong, some started to leave and
were sunk near Manglet island. One ship, the Kamoi (a oiler) made it to Hong
Kong. The reports show that some ships were sunk by direct hits - others by
bombs that breached the hull under water.
Booklet: "Operation against
Coron Bay" written by HP. Landolt (available at the dive operators in Coron).
Reports in the internet: Coron
Wrecks, Discovery
divers (P. Heimsteadt) Odyssey
, Pacificwrecks
com , Ship
specifications , drawings
of the wrecks by E. Zialcita
The Japanese imperial navy during world war II:
Reports about
several battles with Japan (March 1944 to March 1945) / Other
wrecks in the Philippines (pacificwrecks com), the US
invasion of Leyte (a short text by starfish)
The dive operator Sangat island reserve is right there on the spot (see map), close to where most of the wrecks lie. All the other dive operators (mainly from Coron city) have to make a 40 to 60 min. boat trip every time they want to make a wreck dive.
Sangat island is a very quiet place. The bungalows are very spacious and most of them lie right there at the beach, but don't expect aircon or other amenities. Instead of aircon there is always a slight wind and you can leave doors and windows open with no fear of being robbed. There is electricity, but only for 4 to 6 hours in the evenings (and even then you won't need it, because you will sit on the balcony and watch the sunset coloring the sky and then the stars...) but there is running water (though semi salty) and very nice showers. Food is excellent and softdrinks, beer and liquors are available (very good peanuts with garlic!!). There is also a hot spring around the corner, hidden behind some mangroves. We soaked in hot water in the small pool after some dives we made and felt like in paradise!
The dive operation is professionally run, the divemasters have a lot of experience in wreckdiving. Rental equipment is available. You can do a Nitrox course and then dive on the wrecks - it gives you much more time on the wrecks. Actually we ran out of air before we got into deco on our computers (tanks available, though no Nitrox computers). After they have checked on your diving abilities, usually you can choose, to which dive site you want to go. Boat rides take from 10 minutes to about half an hour. You can make night dives on the house reef.
Culion (city south of Sangat) is known in the Philippines as the country's Leper Colony. It is under American administration since 1905 . The early medical services were provided by the Sisters of St. Paul. In 1908 a hospital was built, subsequently passing under administration of the Department of Health. The Culion Sanitarium today serves as a general hospital for the entire Calamian. Leprosy can be stopped or cured by a multi drug therapy but often limbs are lost to the illness.
You can visit Culion easily from Sangat island and look at the church, the sanitarium and the some parts of the fort. Make a dive at dynamite reef on the way back.
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. Copyright Teresa Zubi (write to
me)