T

he WWII years and even earlier
have left an undersea legacy
that now benefits divers. Subic Bay,
just north of Manila, is a popular
wreck diving spot. The American
WWII victim USS New York and
many others, including remnants
from Spanish Manila Galleon days,
are covered in marine life.
Following the exit of US troops after
the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the
bay is now open for exploration and
hosts wreck divers, deep tek and
lots of training.
Subic has provided shelter for
ships for many decades. The first
major naval base was Spanish.
Another very popular area lies
south in Coron. For diving, Coron's
history started on September 24,

1944, when US Navy strike forces

attacked a Japanese supply fleet at

anchor in Coron Bay and north

Busuanga Island.

Today some of the ships are quite

shallow and snorkelers can enjoy

their coral-laden hulls. Others are

large freighters that attract all sorts

of marine life and are adorned in

brilliant soft corals and black coral.

Time has turned them into shipreefs

and divers can explore the reef

aspects above and also penetrate to

see the artifacts of a wartime ship.

Malapascua also has a few wartime

coral-laden wartime wrecks.

On top of this, some places like

Puerto Galera have purposely sunk

shipwrecks which attract shoals of

fish and are good for wreck training.

Wartime Shipwrecks Abound

Diver exits a jail area of Olympia Maru, Coron