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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Chuuk Lagoon location page.
Overview
The Million Dollar Wreck — a Japanese armed cargo ship sunk by USS Essex bombers during Operation Hailstone on 18 February 1944. Sits upright on the lagoon floor at 64 m with the bridge at 50 m and main deck at 50–55 m. Three Type 95 Ha-Go tanks remain lashed to the foredeck, holds packed with mines, bombs, artillery shells, trucks and aircraft parts. Deep, dark and intact — the ammunition is still live.
Briefing note
Tech-trimix dive — runtimes typically 50–60 min with 30+ min of deco. Live ordnance is present throughout the holds; do not touch. Penetration is not recommended even for advanced wreck divers given the depth, debris and oil seepage.
What you'll see
3 species curated- year-roundWhitetip reef shark
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundLionfish
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceWhitetip reef shark
- Last confirmed
- Apr 2026
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
The wreck
Ship history- War grave
Freighter · Japan
San Francisco Maru
- Built
- 1919
- Sunk
- Feb 17, 1944
- Length
- 117 m
- Tonnage
- 5,831
- Diveable depth
- 42–64 m
- How she sank
- Sunk in wartime
Japanese cargo vessel known as the 'Million Dollar Wreck' for its cargo of trucks, tanks, and ammunition. Deep, technical-only dive — sits at 50–64 m and requires trimix.
Notable features
- three Japanese Type 95 light tanks on deck
- Isuzu trucks
- mines and bombs in the holds
Vessel histories sourced from the Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS), NOAA ENC Direct, and editorial research. Bathymetry per GEBCO. See the methodology for limits.
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Feb | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Apr | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| May | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jun | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jul | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Aug | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Sep | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Nov | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Dec | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Dive light — Sub-50 m bottom is dark — primary plus backup canister required.
- Computer — Trimix and decompression schedules — multi-gas computer essential.
Next step
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