Dona Marilyn

The Dona Marilyn is a Philippine passenger ferry that sank in 1988 during a typhoon while en route between Manila and Tacloban, with heavy loss of life, and now rests off Malapascua Island in the Visayas. The wreck lies on its side on a sandy bottom and is broken in places, having settled over decades in the current-swept waters north of Cebu. It reaches a maximum depth of around 32 metres and is rated an advanced dive, and the site attracts soft coral growth and reef fish that have colonized the hull, along with occasional pelagic visitors passing through the channel. Because of the depth and the currents common around Malapascua, it is generally treated as a dive for those with prior wreck experience rather than an introductory site.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• MandarinfishSynchiropus splendidusReported here · unconfirmed
• Anemone Porcelain CrabNeopetrolisthes maculatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Clark's AnemonefishAmphiprion clarkiiReported here · unconfirmed
• Hypselodoris variobranchiaReported here · unconfirmed
• Chocolate Chip Sea StarProtoreaster nodosusReported here · unconfirmed
• Magnificent ChromodorisChromodoris magnificaReported here · unconfirmed
• Spiny SeahorseHippocampus histrixObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Dusky NembrothaNembrotha kubaryanaObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Whitetip Reef SharkTriaenodon obesusObserved near here · iNaturalist