Skeleton Wreck

A skeletal hull beside a reef

Pirates Diving Resort describes Skeleton Wreck near the northwest corner of Coron Island as the remaining framework of a steel hull about 25 m long. The wreck follows a reef slope rather than lying at a single depth.

Depth reports need qualification

Pirates places the bow at about 5 m and the stern at 22 m, while another line on the same page gives a 7–22 m range. Sangat Island Dive Resort lists a different 22–25 m overall range for its Skeleton Gunboat entry. These descriptions do not establish one precise depth range for this listing.

The reported vessel length is a separate measurement from dive depth. This review also has not independently established the original vessel’s name, exact sinking date or cause.

Choose the activity explicitly

When arranging a visit, distinguish viewing the exterior from entering the wreck. A source’s description of a shallow or beginner-friendly outing does not establish suitability for an interior route. Confirm the intended section, depth, access conditions and experience requirements with the operator. Coral and fish reports describe possibilities; this guide does not promise particular wildlife.

Pirates' fuller description

Pirates Diving Resort heads its entry Skeleton Wreck (Japanese Patrol Boat) and describes the keel, ribs and stringers of a steel-hulled boat about 25 m long. It says the wreck was beached with the bow a dozen metres from Coron Island and the stern pointing directly away from the island, and that a pass-through on the starboard side of the hull at 14 m lets a diver swim from inside the boat out over the coral reef. Its recommended certification level is Skin Diver or Open Water Diver.

PADI's listing and a 2016 snorkel visit

PADI's dive-site page, built from a Neptune Dive Center contribution, calls Skeleton Wreck a small fishing boat at Coron Island that lies on a slant and starts at 4 m, with most of the boat weathered away to leave the ribs. It describes a small open wreck suitable for beginners, popular with snorkelers because of its shallow depth, with a lot of macro life for a careful eye, and lists a 22 m maximum depth with boat or shore entry. Travel writer Benjie Layug, posting on 31 January 2016, reached the site by outrigger from Twin Lagoon as a snorkeling stop near Banol Beach off the northwest corner of Coron Island, found a number of boats, divers and snorkelers already there, and reported the top of the wreck in about 6 m of water on a reef, clear enough to be viewed from the surface. He warned of sea urchins and paid a PhP100 per-person mooring charge on that visit.

What the vessel was

The sources disagree about the boat. Pirates labels it a Japanese patrol boat, PADI and Layug call it a fishing boat, and Sangat Island Dive Resort lists a Skeleton Gunboat near Coron Island with a 40-minute travel time from its resort. These identities are recorded here without reconciliation; none of the pages names the vessel or gives a sinking date. Layug's 2016 wording closely follows the Pirates text, so those two accounts are treated as one lineage for the measurements.

Entry depths and fees are dated statements

PADI's 4 m starting depth, Pirates' 5 m bow, Layug's 6 m top-of-wreck figure and Sangat's 22 to 25 m overall range are each that source's statement; none has been checked for this guide. The mooring charge is a 2016 figure and may have changed.