Fujikawa Maru was a cargo ship built in 1938 and subsequently requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was sunk in Truk Lagoon in 1944 during Operation Hailstone. Just the previous year she was lucky to evade a similar fate, after being struck by a torpedo from USS Permit whilst heading from Truk to Kwajalein.

Today the wreck sits upright in a general depth about 35m, the shallowest parts of the superstructure are as shallow as 9m. The wreck has many points of interest, contains many artefacts including aircraft parts and artillery shells, and  is smothered with corals and teems with fish.

Looking back through my logbook, it’s pretty hard to single out one specific thing about this wreck. The list of artefacts is long (beer bottles, cooking pots, shells, aircraft, lanterns), and the ship itself is very intact apart from the bridge superstructure which is showing some pretty serious signs of wear now. At the bow is a large gun (made in Britain in 1899!) and beautiful brass telegraph. The stern is also very interesting, especially the compass binnacle and steering mechanisms.