Irako

The Irako is a Japanese refrigeration and supply ship sunk in Coron Bay, Palawan, during the US Navy air raid of September 1944 that destroyed much of the Japanese fleet sheltering there. It rests upright on the seabed, largely intact, and is one of the deeper and more popular wrecks in the Coron group, often penetrated by divers exploring its holds and machinery spaces. The wreck bottoms out around 45 metres and is rated an intermediate dive, consistent with its depth and the need for some wreck awareness when moving through its interior spaces. Marine growth covers much of the hull, and divers have reported grouper hanging around the structure along with the reef fish and occasional larger pelagics passing through the bay.

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

• Bamboo Sea FanIsis hippurisReported here · unconfirmed
• Eightband ButterflyfishChaetodon octofasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Scissortail SergeantAbudefduf sexfasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Lagoon DamselHemiglyphidodon plagiometoponReported here · unconfirmed
• Ocellaris AnemonefishAmphiprion ocellarisReported here · unconfirmed
• Crocodile FlatheadCymbacephalus beaufortiReported here · unconfirmed
• Pacific Bullethead ParrotfishChlorurus spilurusReported here · unconfirmed
• Orangelined CardinalfishTaeniamia fucataReported here · unconfirmed
• GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed