wreck, but some lettuce sponges
and a few small reef fish including
harlequin ghost pipefish and striped
pipefish call this home.
- Black Island Wreck
Icons:
Location: West of Malajon Island
Depth: 55-115 ft. (17-34m)
Not far offshore from Malajon
Island, Black Island Wreck sits
upright on the sloping sandy
bottom. It is sometimes called the
Nanshin Maru although there seems
to be some controversy about the
exact name of this ship. It’s on a
slope with the stern at 65 ft.(20m)
and its bow at 100 ft.(30m).
This is the northernmost of
the Coron wrecks.
Unlike most of the
region’s wrecks, this one
wasn’t sunk during the
September 1944 air raid
and may not even be of
Japanese construction. Like
Palau’s Helmet Wreck, it
may be a spoil of the war
from another nation and
converted for war use. The
visibility is generally good,
making it popular with
photographers.
Named for the black rocks
of adjacent Malajon Island,
the wreck is home to lots of
sweepers, shoals of snappers,
fusiliers, several different species of
angelfish including the beautiful
six-banded angels and the emperor.
The wreck also has groupers and
scorpionfish and lionfish. Sponge
life is also nice.
Other Coron dives include The
Skeleton Wreck (there are 11
wrecks in all), Barracuda Lake
(Cayangan Lake), Seven Picados
Reef which is one of many marine
protected areas, Barracuda Lake
Caveand Cathedral Cave. The
Sangat Housereefis a favorite night
dive and has big and active jawfish
and Dynamite Reef is good for
macro photos.Batfish on the Nanshin Maru