Kitsugawa Maru 1944
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Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | Kitsugawa Maru | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1944 | English Wikipedia lead text (year following a loss verb, parsed) |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Sea / ocean | Philippine Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Guam | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 3 km from land |
| Position | 13.4582, 144.6525 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Kizugawa Maru (Japanese: 木津川丸, きづがわまる), or Kitsugawa Maruα, is a World War II-era Japanese water tanker sunk in Apra Harbor, Guam. Damaged by a submarine torpedo attack off Guam on April 8, 1944, she was towed into port for repairs. In port, she was further damaged in three separate U.S. air attacks during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. Deemed irreparable, Kizugawa Maru was scuttled by shore guns on June 27, 1944. The shipwreck is now a deep recreational diving site.
Diving & visiting
Kizugawa Maru is a deep recreational diving site, sometimes referred to as the Kitz. She is lauded as an "excellent wreck dive" and a rival to "any that can be found on Truk." The top of Kizugawa Maru's mast is at 60 feet (18 m), while the bow gun sits at 100 feet (30 m). Damage from six bombs is at 130 feet (40 m), with the silt bottom of the harbor at 140 feet (43 m). Due to the depth, recreational divers use Nitrox or are severely limited on the time available at the gun or deck in order to avoid incurring a decompression obligation. Trained wreck divers considering penetration are further cautioned about plentiful silt, as well as twisted metal around the engine room and holds.
Location
- Recorded position: 13.4582, 144.6525 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Philippine Sea
- Nearest coast: Guam
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Kizugawa Maru (revision 1361479803), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Dive site”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Tokai Maru 1943 · 0 km
- SMS Cormoran 0 km
- RMS Caronia 1974 · 3 km
Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Guam · Philippine Sea · Second World War