One of the best scuba diving site in Chuuk Lagoon. Fujikawa Maru was a 132m long (433ft) refrigerated cargo ship that was built in 1938 for the Toyo Kaiun Kisen Kaisha. She was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II for use as an auxiliary armed aircraft transport or ferry, and was rerated as an auxiliary transport on 1 January, 1944. She was sunk in Truk Lagoon in 1944 during Operation Hailstone and is now a leading wreck diving site for scuba divers.
Amongst the more striking features on the wreck are at least nine disassembled Mitsubishi fighter aircraft in one of the forward holds. Eight of the aircraft are A6M Zeros and the ninth is an A5M Claude, the sole known survivor of the type. The vessel also boasts a 6-inch (152 mm) bow gun, left over from the Sino-Japanese war and retrofitted.
The Times named it as one of the top 10 wreck dives in the world, and Aquaviews ranked it as the fourth best wreck dive in the world.
The dive
I scanned the wreck on Feb. 20th 2025. Water depth: 33m (100ft) Size:132m (396 ft)
