Japanese Wreck

Wreck remains described by local operators

Angelyn’s Dive Resort describes Japanese Wreck as remaining machinery, including an engine and propeller assembly, on sand. Its account attributes the remains to a wartime patrol boat; vessel identity and history have not been independently established here.

A deep reference, with different route descriptions

Tech Asia places the wreck on the seabed at 42 m in its technical-training discussion. La Laguna Beach Club also lists a 42 m reference. Angelyn’s instead labels its route 5–40 m and describes continuing toward Boulders. That shallow endpoint does not establish the depth of the wreck itself, and the sources do not define one agreed range.

Plan the visit with a qualified operator

Confirm the exact remains, intended depth, required training and equipment, current conditions and whether the operator is offering the dive. Gas selection, decompression and tide timing require a specific plan; this guide makes no general nitrox recommendation. Present structural condition, precise entry coordinates, visibility, temperature and wildlife encounter rates remain unverified.

What the historical listing does and does not identify

Pacific Wrecks’ Puerto Galera entry, last updated March 20, 2022, lists the Japanese Wreck at 42 metres and describes surviving engine, shaft and propeller components from a wooden wartime patrol boat. It credits additional information to Rick Kirkham of Frontier Scuba. That attribution matters: this is a documented dive-site account, not a supplied vessel registry, builder’s record or positively identified wreck survey. No vessel name is established by that entry. Its location wording refers broadly to the eastern side of the peninsula; the peninsula coordinates printed elsewhere on the page are not a verified pin for these remains.

Tech Asia uses the wreck as an example in its Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures course description. Its discussion contrasts a brief recreational visit with the longer exploration time possible after appropriate decompression training. This explains the attraction of a technical outing without turning a course advertisement into a dive plan. The page’s illustrative bottom times are not recommendations for a reader, and its course depth limit is not a newly measured depth of the wreck.

The training description emphasizes buoyancy, propulsion, body position, equipment configuration, gas management and emergency skills alongside decompression theory. Those details help distinguish the advertised preparation from simply holding a generic advanced card. Course completion requirements and suitability for this particular trip still need confirmation with the operator. The wreck’s machinery, identity evidence and proposed route should be discussed separately from the training package: enrolling on a course does not itself verify the historical identification or today’s access conditions.

Operator detail added at the October 2026 check

Angelyn's Dive Resort's dive-site page, captured on 7 October 2026, adds that two very large moray eels are resident at the remains, along with many sweetlips and small invertebrates, and that a flashlight and a good dive guide matter because the site can be hard to find. It also says the dive is preferably done on nitrox and can only be done on a flood tide; that is one operator's remark, not a recommendation made here.

Capt'n Gregg's 45-site chart, captured the same day, lists Japanese Wreck as number 39 and calls it a wreck waypoint where the dive plan should be checked at the shop before boarding, noting that the listed depth is technical for many recreational divers. PADI's Puerto Galera listing names scorpionfish, snapper and barracuda among common sightings and lists Enriched Air, Deep and Tec training as useful; its 45 metre maximum is not repeated by any operator page and is not adopted here.