Diving Guide to the Philippines 2015

(Barry) #1

  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

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