Habagat Wreck

The wreck and the upper reef are different outings

Scotty’s describes Habagat as a wreck on a sandy bottom, reached along a steep reef slope off Panglao. Its account distinguishes visiting the deeper wreck from exploring the upper reef. Confirm which part of the site is included in a booking; an outing described as suitable for a less experienced diver may refer to the reef rather than the wreck itself.

Depth reports do not fully agree

Scotty’s places the wreck at 35 m and describes a slope starting around 8 m. Philippine Fun Divers also mentions 35 m in its prose, but its table lists 8–34 m. Frontier Tech Divers describes the wreck at 32–37 m, with a nearby reef starting at 22 m. These reports are retained with their attribution; the earlier single maximum of 35 m should not be treated as settled.

History and planning questions

Scotty’s and Philippine Fun Divers report a sinking in 2000. The reviewed sources do not establish the earlier account linking the sinking to heavy rain. Confirm the intended depth, the condition of the wreck and whether the proposed route remains outside it. No source description here is an instruction to enter the wreck or a prescription for gas, decompression or bottom time.

What remains uncertain

The exact extent of each described route and a universal certification requirement remain unresolved. This guide does not identify Habagat with another wreck merely because descriptions sound similar. Wildlife in operator accounts is not a guaranteed encounter or a dated sighting.

Sources

Philippine Fun Divers; Scotty’s Action Sports Network; Frontier Tech Divers. Reviewed automatically from published sources; no local-diver verification is claimed.

The wreck and neighbouring habitats

Frontier Tech Divers describes Habagat as a small cabin cruiser approximately 14 metres long. That measurement concerns the vessel's length, not its depth. The operator reports frogfish and lionfish on the decks, with snapper and sweetlips outside. Philippine Fun Divers adds a different set of observations: batfish above the wreck, and lionfish, anglerfish and cardinalfish beneath it. Neither account establishes the present condition or accessibility of the boat's interior.

Philippine Fun Divers describes an S-shaped wall beyond the sandy slope and associates anglerfish with that wall. Its account places feather stars and ghost pipefish along the slope, giving a more specific habitat picture than treating the whole outing as a wreck inspection. Scotty's separately reports small recesses in the nearby wall with groupers and snappers, and corals and schooling reef fish around 12 metres. These operator descriptions distinguish the boat, sand, wall and upper reef; they do not turn the deeper wreck visit and the shallower reef outing into the same qualification or dive plan.