Iro Maru

The Iro Maru is a Japanese naval supply ship sunk by American aircraft in 1944, lying near the Rock Islands off Ngeruktabel in Palau. The wreck sits upright on a sandy bottom, with a maximum depth of around 30 metres and the shallowest parts of the superstructure reachable well above that. It runs close to 140 metres in length and still carries features such as a gun mount and boilers, along with encrusting corals and reef fish that have colonized the hull over the decades. The site is rated a beginner dive, with the upper deck and shallower structure making up the bulk of what is visited on a guided dive, while any deeper penetration into the holds calls for more caution.

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

• Blue LinckiaLinckia laevigataReported here · unconfirmed
• Boring Giant ClamTridacna croceaReported here · unconfirmed
• Greenfish Sea CucumberStichopus chloronotusReported here · unconfirmed
• Lollyfish Sea CucumberHolothuria atraReported here · unconfirmed
• Pajama CardinalfishSphaeramia nematopteraReported here · unconfirmed
• Grey Reef SharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Papuan Spotted JellyMastigias papuaObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Hawksbill Sea TurtleEretmochelys imbricataObserved near here · iNaturalist
• Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusObserved near here · iNaturalist