1. Oryoku Maru
   Icons:
   Location: Off Alava Pier
   Depth: 50-90 ft. (15-27m)

T

he Oryoku was leveled after the
war as it sits in the shipping
channel and posed a navigational
hazard. It is not much to see and
visibility isn’t usually all that good.
Divers like this wreck for its bloody
history. Sunk in a U.S. air attack
during WWII, it was subsequently
discovered that more than 1,600
U.S. prisoners of war were onboard,
all of whom perished in the attack.
Not much is left to suggest it was
once a Japanese passenger vessel,
but it’s now home to a variety of

fish, including a resident shoal of

barracuda, butterflyfish and

sweetlips. It also features some soft

and hard corals, sponges and

hydroids. The current can pick up

here, and the visibility, which can

vary from 10-50 ft. (3-15m), is

usually better just after high tide. It

isn’t a real deep dive so there is

time to explore.

2) USS New York

Icons:

Location: 15 min from Alava Pier

Depth: 50-92 ft. (15-28m)

Not far from the Oryoku is a dive

on a US battleship considered a

must dive for those diving the

Goby in wire coral polyps