Coron Bay, off Busuanga Island in northern Palawan, holds one of the world's great concentrations of WWII Japanese shipwrecks—a dozen-odd auxiliary and supply vessels sunk in a single US carrier air strike on 24 September 1944. Wrecks range from a 10 m snorkel-friendly gunboat to a 43 m+ technical penetration dive, complemented by the freshwater-saltwater thermocline of Barracuda Lake.
Destination info
Conditions, highlights, and the resident marine life.
Conditions
Water and air temperature across the year.
WaterAirDryShoulderWet
Description
On 24 September 1944, US Navy aircraft of Task Force 38 (Air Groups 18, 19 and 31, flying from the fast carrier force) struck a Japanese convoy that had fled Manila Bay and sheltered in Coron Bay. In a single day they sank the seaplane tender Akitsushima and a string of auxiliary supply ships, freighters and tankers, creating the wreck field that defines Coron diving today. The wrecks lie in sheltered lagoons and bays around Busuanga, Tangat (Sangat), Lusong and Coron Islands, mostly at recreational-to-technical depths of roughly 10–43 m. Several—Okikawa Maru, Olympia Maru/Tangat, Lusong Gunboat—are shallow enough for Open Water divers and snorkellers, while the deeper Irako, Akitsushima and Kogyo Maru reward trained wreck and technical divers with engine-room, hold and superstructure penetrations. Most diving is run as day trips from Coron Town on Busuanga; a handful of operators and liveaboards reach the more distant Kyokuzan Maru and Black Island. Conditions are forgiving: visibility on the wrecks is typically a modest 5–15 m (occasionally 20 m+ at the outer sites), water is a warm 26–30°C, and currents are usually light, though silt, depth and overhead environments make wreck and deep training the real prerequisite here. The bonus dive is Barracuda Lake on Coron Island, a limestone-walled brackish lake with a dramatic mid-water thermocline. Wreck identities in Coron have been muddled for decades—several ships were dived under the wrong name for years—so cross-check before quoting a hull.
Highlights
What makes this dive worth the trip.
Coron's wreck field was created in a single day: on 24 September 1944, US Task Force 38 carrier aircraft tracked a Japanese convoy that had fled an earlier strike on Manila Bay and re-engaged it in Coron Bay, sinking the seaplane tender Akitsushima and a string of supply ships, freighters and tankers that today form one of the densest accessible WWII wreck clusters in the world.
The wrecks span the full skill range: the Okikawa Maru tanker's main deck sits at just 10–16 m (Open Water friendly) and the Lusong Gunboat and Skeleton Wreck are shallow enough to snorkel, while the Irako bottoms out at 43 m+ and the Akitsushima and Kogyo Maru offer engine-room and cargo-hold penetrations that demand wreck and technical certification.
Barracuda Lake on Coron Island is a brackish, limestone-walled lake with one of diving's most dramatic thermoclines: the top ~4 m is cool ~28°C freshwater, and at roughly 14 m divers cross a shimmering halocline/thermocline into saltwater that spikes to about 38°C, continuing down past 26 m.
Marine life
32 species you’re likely to encounter on a dive here.
Dive sites
8 signature sites at this destination.
Kyokuzan Maru
A 135 m Imperial Japanese Army auxiliary freighter lying upright off the northeast coast of Busuanga, in Coron's outer waters, with the seabed at about 39 m and the upper deck at roughly 22–28 m. The distance from Coron Town means it is dived less often, but it rewards the trip: the cargo holds still hold the fossilised remains of Japanese army trucks and staff cars (chassis and tyres recognisable), and it is among the best-visibility wrecks in the area at 20 m+. Penetration of the largely intact holds suits wreck-trained divers.
22–39 madvancedDay boatLightVisibility 10–25 m
Okikawa Maru
At 170 m the largest wreck in Coron Bay, this oil tanker lies upright with a slight port tilt. The seabed is about 26 m but the main deck sits at just 10–16 m depending on the tide, making it the classic Open-Water-friendly Coron wreck and a popular site for both novices and night dives. Trained divers can penetrate the engine room, propeller-shaft alley and oil-storage holds. The long, coral-encrusted deck and superstructure host schooling fish, lionfish, scorpionfish, groupers and abundant macro life. Sometimes also recorded under the name Taiei Maru in older guides—another of Coron's identity ambiguities.
10–26 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 5–15 m
Kogyo Maru
A 129 m Imperial Japanese Navy auxiliary supply ship lying on her starboard side, bottoming out at about 36 m with the port-side hull rising to roughly 22 m. Her six cargo holds still contain construction materials from the war effort—most famously a bulldozer (tractor), bags of cement and a cement mixer—making her one of the most rewarding cargo-penetration dives in Coron for trained wreck divers; the engine rooms are reachable through salvage holes. Large groupers (lapu-lapu), schools of batfish, lionfish sheltering in black-coral bushes, barracuda, wrasses and the occasional turtle or ray are seen.
22–36 madvancedDay boatLightVisibility 5–15 m
Olympia Maru (Tangat Wreck)
An auxiliary supply vessel of roughly 122–127 m sitting nearly upright in about 30 m of water close to Tangat (Sangat) Island, with upper structure around 21 m. For years this wreck was dived simply as the 'Tangat wreck' before being named Olympia Maru, and the identification remains debated. The intact holds and engine room offer accessible penetration for wreck-trained divers, and the site is known for good macro life (ghost pipefish, seahorses) alongside resident reef fish, lionfish and scorpionfish on the coral-grown plating.
16–30 mintermediateDay boatLightVisibility 5–15 m
Akitsushima
A 118 m Imperial Japanese Navy seaplane tender, the largest warship of the Coron wrecks, lying on her port side. The bottom is about 36 m and the starboard hull rises to roughly 22 m. The aft section was torn open by a direct bomb hit that detonated her aviation fuel, and her armament (25 mm anti-aircraft guns, a large gun turret) and a crane that once handled a flying boat are recognisable. Penetration of the engine rooms—housing large diesel engines—is possible for divers with deep and wreck/technical training. Soft and hard corals now blanket the hull, with groupers, lionfish, small barracuda, turtles and nudibranchs resident.
22–36 madvancedDay boatLightVisibility 5–15 m
Irako
A 147 m refrigerated provision ship built in 1937 to supply the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet, sitting virtually upright with a slight port tilt. She is the deepest of the main Coron wrecks: the seabed is at about 43–45 m, with the top deck around 34 m, so most penetration work (wheelhouse, cargo holds with entrances near 36 m, galley near 40 m, crew quarters) is decompression/technical territory and is reserved for the most experienced wreck divers. Schools of barracuda, mackerel, sweetlips and batfish patrol the structure, with lionfish, stingrays, turtles and nudibranchs throughout. Tonnage figures vary between sources (around 9,500 t cited by some).
34–45 madvancedDay boatLightVisibility 5–20 m
Barracuda Lake
A brackish, limestone-walled lake on Coron Island reached by a short climb over a karst ridge, famous for its layered water column. The top ~4 m is cool (~28°C) freshwater; at around 14 m divers cross a shimmering, oily-looking thermocline/halocline into saltwater that jumps to roughly 38°C and stays hot down past 26 m, with maximum depths beyond 30 m. There is little fish life (the resident barracuda is largely a legend), but the surreal clarity, dramatic rock formations, silty bottom and the temperature/salinity transition make it a signature non-wreck Coron dive. Entry is from a small wooden platform.
4–30 mbeginnerDay boatNo currentVisibility 10–25 m
Lusong Gunboat
A small Japanese gunboat (~25 m long) lying off Lusong Island in very shallow water—the stern breaks the surface at low tide and the deepest part is only about 7–8 m. That makes it one of Coron's most accessible sites: ideal for snorkellers, freedivers and beginner scuba, and often paired with the adjacent Lusong Coral Garden. The coral-covered hull teems with reef fish, anthias, lionfish and macro critters, and the bright shallow water makes it a favourite for photography and check dives.
1–8 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 5–15 m
Where to dive & stay
Local dive centers, resorts, and hotels.
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