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| Photo of the Week A truck in the cargo hold of the Hoki Maru, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia. www.evolutionunderwater.com ©Mike Gerken |
A Few Words First
I am taking a break from my list of Top Ten Dives of all time and posting a story I wrote on the Hoki Maru in Truk Lagoon. It's part of my wreck series that I have been publishing with the online dive forum, scubaboard.com. You can find this identical story on their site, but I thought I would post it here as well.
If you don't like to read, scroll down to the bottom and see the video excerpt from my documentary, The Wrecks of Truk Lagoon and don't forget you can pick up a copy of this DVD for your collection. Just click on this link to order.
I will be finishing up my Top Ten list in the coming weeks in time for the start of my dive season here in North Carolina with Olympus Dive Center. I just got word that visibility today offshore was 40+ feet with temps a mild 70F degrees. I hope to see you all in NC for some diving soon!
Happy Diving!
-Mike Gerken
Hoki Maru
“A Prize of War”
by Mike Gerken
(Video Enclosed)
“A Prize of War”
by Mike Gerken
(Video Enclosed)
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| Painting of the M/V Hauraki by J.E. Hobbs. Courtesy of the Wellington Maritime Museum. |
Warplanes
with guns blazing hurtle through the skies over Truk Lagoon; many fall
earthwards with telltale flames and smoke emanating from the spiraling
wreckage. One by one, Japanese pilots, outgunned and outmanned, desperate to
defend their stronghold from marauding enemy planes, are shot out of the sky by
Hellcat fighter planes. Avenger torpedo bombers glide low over the surface of
the lagoon and aim their sites upon a hapless ship sitting at anchor. Torpedoes
are released and slam in to the 7,000-ton vessel, splitting the steel open as
if it were made of foil. A rush of seawater pours through the ruptured hull,
flooding the compartments within. Helldiver dive-bombers adding to the melee;
plummet from altitude and un-leash the 1000-pound bombs strapped to their
bellies. The projectiles pierce the deck and ignite a stockpile of fuel and
ammunition within the holds. Like the awakening of a sleeping volcano, the entire forward
section of the vessel erupts violently, sealing the fate of a once proud vessel.
Debris is launched high in to the air while dense black smoke envelops the
ship. Many of the crew perish in a ball of fire. When the smoke clears, the
ship is gone. Another hapless victim of ‘Operation
Hailstone’, the United States carrier based air raid launched on February
17, 1944 at the height of the war in the Pacific.
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| US Planes over Truk Lagoon February 17, 1944. Courtesy of the NARA. |
Such was the fate of the Japanese
merchant ship, the Hoki Maru; the result of the wrath of a nation scorned and
relentlessly seeking retribution for the treachery suffered at Pearl Harbor. United States air forces would
sink more than four-dozen Japanese ships and destroy 250 planes during the
two-day air strike. The victory at Truk Lagoon was incremental in stemming the
rampant and unbridled advancement of the Japanese Empire across the Pacific and
East Asia during World War II.
The event
unknowingly created one of the world’s greatest wreck diving locations in
modern times. Sport divers the world over travel from afar to visit this small Pacific
island nation to see first hand the result of this devastating attack. The ‘Hoki Maru’ being only one wreck site of
dozens to explore.
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| The Hoki Maru ablaze at anchor. Courtesy of the NARA. |
The Hoki
Maru was not christened as such. Built in Scotland for the Union Steamship
Corporation of New Zealand in 1921, the 450-foot ship rolled off the slipway by the name of the M/V Hauraki. Her state of the art diesel engines would propel the
ship on service runs between North America and New Zealand until 1942. The
British requisitioned her for wartime usage at that time.
Sailing
from Sydney, Australia, the Hauraki
would be intercepted by Japanese merchant raiders, Aikoku and Hokuko Maru and
taken back to Japan via Singapore as a prize of war. Many of the Australian and
New Zealand crew were sent off to prison camps where five died as a result of
the horrid treatment received there. The Hauraki
engineers, however, were forced to stay on board in order to facilitate the
running of the diesel engines that Japanese engineers knew not how to operate. Determined
to not let their ship become an asset for Japan, the bold crew of the Hauraki set out to sabotage her at every
turn.
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| The M/V Hauraki prior to becoming the Hoki Maru. Courtesy of the NARA. |
The men
were thorough at disabling their vessel by tossing tools and spare parts
overboard and allowing the engines to fall in to disrepair. So effective was
their job, that by time the Hauraki
arrived in Japan, the ship was in such ruin it would take 18 months of
refitting to return her to service. All this was accomplished without the
knowledge of their Japanese captors.
In December
of 1943, the Hauraki was renamed the Hoki Maru and ready for service, albeit
a short service at that. She would
arrive in Truk Lagoon sometime in February of 1944 where she met her final demise
at the hands of US planes.
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| A stockpile of aerial bombs in the hold of the Hoki Maru. The likely culprint for the massive explosion. |
Truk Lagoon
is known today as the state of Chuuk. The ‘Hoki’
is one of the premier dive sites there with liveaboard and land based dive
operators both making regular trips to dive her. She came to rest on the lagoon
floor in approximately 150 feet of water. More than 200 feet of the forward
section of the ship is splayed open like a peeled banana due to the violent
explosion. However, the stern section is still remarkably intact and sitting
upright. It is the artifacts found within the aft cargo holds that are the main
attraction of this dive.
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| The liveaboard dive vessel, the Truk Odyssey. |
I first saw
the Hoki Maru in 2003 while working
on the liveaboard, Truk Aggressor II
and later with another liveaboard, the Truk
Odyssey. By the time I left in July
2008, I was fortunate to log more than 2,000 dives in Chuuk with more than 150
on the Hoki Maru alone. The ‘Hoki’ sits in an area of the lagoon that
receives a fresh supply of blue water from outside the barrier reef offering
exceptional visibility that can exceed 100 feet. Water temperatures in the low
eighties and mild currents are the norm.
Upon diving
the ‘Hoki’, I follow the vertical
mast down that juts up to 70’ from the wreck below. Once to the bottom, I find
myself at a depth of 115 feet and forward of hold number five, the furthest
cargo hold aft. I make my way aft and hover over the cargo hold, I look down in
to the darkness between the hatch cover beams that stretch across the opening. These
beams once supported the wooden floors that have long since rotted away. Perched
atop the beams on the middle level is the remains of a bulldozer whose massive
weight pressing down for 65 years has caused the steel beams to bend and twist
like a pretzel. Each time I descend down in to this hold, I make a point not to
swim beneath it. Even though the dozer has been sitting there peacefully for
decades, you never know if that moment you happen to be underneath it, will be
the moment ten tons of machinery decides to crash down upon you. It is better to
be safe than sorry.
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| Trucks of Truk Lagoon. |
I arrive at
the mid level of the cargo hold and my depth gauge reads 135’ of seawater. I
shine my dive light towards the stern and parked neatly underneath the overhang
stand three vintage pick-up trucks facing the aft bulkhead. There are two
others off to my right. Although showing signs of age, the bodies of the 1940’s
era vehicles are in surprising good condition. I swim around the front in the
tight space between the trucks and the bulkhead and snap a few photos. Not
stirring the thick layer of silt that has accumulated on the floor makes the
effort all the more difficult.
As I turn
and begin to swim up the starboard side of the cargo hold, I now see a tractor
complete with steering wheel and seat. Oddly, the treads on the tires are mounted
backwards. This may be because the tractor was to do more pulling than pushing,
or simply, it was an error.
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| A tractor inside the hold of the 'Hoki'. |
After inspecting
the tractor, I begin to head forward while passing under the well lit center
section of the cargo hold. As I swim to the opposite side the sunlight begins
to fade to blackness again. I shine my light in to the dark reaches of the room
and see the backs of another three large dump trucks. Like the other cargo in this hold, these
trucks are mostly intact with the exception of all the glass windows that are busted
out. The bumpers are practically touching the forward bulkhead of the compartment
so I swim in the tight spaces over their hoods towards the port side of the
ship. I examine the interior spaces of the trucks as I swim past each one. The
steering wheels, gauges, pedals and stick shift are all intact, but the springs
are all that remains of the seat cushions.
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| A dump truck near the blast hole in the hull. Courtesy of the NARA. |
As I pass
over the hood of the last dump truck, I can now see the probable reason why all
the glass windows on these trucks are blown out. There is hole in the hull
caused by an external explosion on the port side that is just big enough to
swim through. Evidence of the detonation is all around me. Most of the body of
a truck that was parked adjacent to the hole is gone; the solid steel chassis
is severely bent and the rubber tires are scorched and melted.
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| The interior of a truck. |
At this
point, I glance at my dive computer and realize my stay at this depth is over. I
pass another piece of machinery as I slowly ascend out of the cargo hold. A
steamroller hangs perilously off the second floor and propped up only by one of
the remaining rusted crossbeams. My head emerges from the dark, confined and
silted quarters below to the open sunlit spaces on deck. I turn my light off
and begin to breathe a little easier. Although I have just seen the highlights
of the Hoki Maru, this dive is far
from over.
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| Pink anemone fish and host. |
As I swim forward, the wreck becomes
shallower until I come across a large section of the deck that is peeled back
upon itself like an opened sardine can. Once I get to the edge of the wreck, I
look out and all I can see are hull plates and twisted metal lying in the sand
all around me. Any semblance of a ship is gone. The thick plating are bent as
though they were made of putty. I gaze out at the destruction and contemplate the
magnitude of the blast before me. I wonder in awe at the sight, but dread the
fate of those that were anywhere near when the bombs ripped through the deck, igniting
the deadly chain reaction of explosions below.
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| Beer bottles in the cargo hold of the 'Hoki'. |
When I come
to my senses, I see a small opening in the debris and cannot resist the urge to
explore within. I enter the hole and switch on my dive light. Lying before me,
there are hundreds if not thousands of beer bottles with the name of Dainippon
Brewery Co. imprinted in the glass. I am in what appears to be cargo hold
number 3. The ceiling to the hold is completely blocked off by the decking that
was peeled back from the explosion. The further I travel down the more bottles
I see. Many of them are sitting perfectly aligned and nestled next to each other
in the deep silt. The wooden cases the beer was shipped in have long since
rotted away, along with the tin caps, leaving the empty bottles behind.
I’m
stupefied as to why the Japanese would allocate such valuable cargo space
during wartime to non-essential supplies such as alcohol. Could it be that
alcohol was used as a means of improving moral and hence placating the
soldiers? Is it easier to persuade men to commit atrocities while under the
influence of drugs?
With once
last glance down at my pressure gauge. there is no doubting that it is time to ascend.
As I make my way slowly upward, I study the scene below me. As always after
such a dive, I ponder the sheer waste of human lives and materials in the form
of the rusted remains beneath me. Only the beautiful and prolific marine
sanctuary that this once noble ship has become uplifts my forlorn mood. Today,
the wrecks of Truk Lagoon serve a purpose beyond that of war.
A video excerpt from the documentary,
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