Fumi Maru No. 3

Local Name:

Dai-San

Depth:

This wreck is about 120 to 130 feet to the deck.

Length and Orientation info:


The approximate length and approximate orientation of the ship are deteremined based on the lat and lon of the bow and stern. Typically, the lat/lon information was obtained by attaching a line with a float to the wreck and marking the position of the float with a handheld GPS receiver. We try to get the line as near vertical as possible, but there is bound to be some error. Also, the GPS position will have a certain error in it as well. So, this information will be reasonable, but not 100 percent accurate.

Stern Position:
Latitude : 8 deg 50.838 min 0 sec
Longitude: 167 deg 44.211 min 0 sec

Bow Position:
Latitude : 8 deg 50.845 min 0 sec
Longitude: 167 deg 44.232 min 0 sec

Approximate length: feet

Approximate orientation: deg mag

Anchoring:

This wreck now has a sub-surface bouy on it. There SHOULD be a nice 2.5" SS ring under the sub-surface buoy. I recommend sending in a snorkeler/diver with a rope and have them run one end through the ring. Be sure to tie BOTH ends of the rope off to a cleat. I would ALWAYS bring down a second means of anchoring with me. Personally, I prefer a small folding grapnel on the end of some 1/2" polypro line, but any second means of securing the boat should be fine.

Location:

Latitude Longitude
Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds
8 50 50.820 167 44 12.540
8 50.84700 --------- 167 44.20900 ---------
8.84745 --------- --------- 167.73681 --------- ---------

Notes:

This ship is one of the nicest wrecks to dive in our lagoon. There is a lot of black coral growing on the ship. Taking of black coral off the wrecks is highly discouraged. Please leave it there for the next diver to enjoy.

The wreck is roughly facing north and runs more-or-less parallel to the shore. The bow sports a nice gun that points backward to the starboard side of the ship. There is a row of ammo boxes on the rear of the gun platform with one box opened (see photos below). There is a large crack running vertically down the port side of the ship at the front of the cabin area. An anchor lies on the deck on the starboard side just forward of the cabin. Recently thousands of small fish have been swarming over the wreck.

Photos:

One of the funnels just behind the cabin area. Nice orange sponge, black coral (the bushy looking stuff) and our swarm of small fish on the bottom of the picture.
Here's that ammo box on a clear day. You can clearly see the ammo still in the box.
Here's a closer view of the gun. The photograph is taken from somewhere near the ammo boxes and we are facing towards the bow of the ship. On this particular day there were not many fish around.
Here's a shot of the bow gun with the ammo boxes on the left side the gun platform. The view is roughly facing west. You are looking at the bow of the ship heading to the right (north).
Slightly closer view of the bow again. The gun and open ammo box are a little clearer in this image.
You are looking at the crack in the hull on the port side of the ship. You can see the forward part of the cabin area/wheelhouse in the very top of the photo. Was this crack the cause of the sinking, or a by-product of it?
Here's a view from the cabin area looking towards the stern at the engine room hatches.
Being a deep dive, you'll certainly want to make a safety stop on the way back up. One of the nice things about a digital camera is that you can review your pictures on the spot. Here Jeff and Robert spend their safety stop enjoying Jeff's photos. (I have to wait a month for mine to be developed!)


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Created by Dave Fortin

Sun Jan 19 13:29:18 UTC 2025