Chuuk Lagoon
Micronesia · Chuuk · 3 m
Description
Chuuk Lagoon is the wreck diving capital of the world. On 17 February 1944 American carrier aircraft caught the Japanese fleet at anchor here in Operation Hailstone and sank sixteen warships and thirty two merchant vessels in two days. They are still down there, most of them between thirty and forty metres, in a lagoon so sheltered that there is no real current. The Fujikawa Maru still has fighter planes in her forward hold. Around six thousand visitors a year come, and almost all of them come to dive. Weno is the base for all of it, a working island of shops and boat sheds rather than a resort.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 4 to 10 days (optimal 7 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: January – April
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Fujikawa Maru with the fighter planes in her hold
- Shinkoku Maru and its coral covered decks
- The ghost fleet of Operation Hailstone
- Heian Maru, the largest wreck in the lagoon
- San Francisco Maru and the tanks on her deck
- Nippo Maru with its field gun
- The Betty bomber in the shallows
- Sixteen warships and thirty two merchant ships on the bottom
- Weno, the state capital and dive base
- A sheltered lagoon with no real current
- Reef sharks and turtles over the wrecks
- Boat runs out to the wreck sites
- Technical dives on the deeper hulls
- Coral gardens on the barrier reef
Getting there
- Airports:
- TKK
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry