Coron Bay

Coron Bay is a well-known diving area in the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines.
It is located in the Calamian Islands, between the islands of Coron and Busuanga. Most of Coron Bay is located in the Coron Island Protected Area and is a traditional fishing area of the indigenous Tagbanwa tribe.
Coron Bay is famous for diving with ten Japanese shipwrecks. The ships Akitsushima, Okikawa Maru, Irako Maru, Kogyo Maru, Olympia Maru, Taiei Maru, Kyokuzan Maru, East Tangat Gunboat and Lusong Island Gunboat were sunk on September 24, 1944 by the third air fleet of US Task Force 38 based in Leyte. The wrecks can be reached in a one-hour drive from Coron by diving boat. With the exception of the Lusong Island Gunboat, which partially breaks through the water surface and is therefore suitable for snorkelers, and the East Tangat Gunboat, which is suitable for beginners at a depth of 5 to 20 m, all other wrecks lie at depths of 20 to 45 m. The wrecks are some over 100 m long and have different decks, corridors, galleys etc. that can be dived. Even if some of the wrecks were cannibalized underwater (e.g. the engine blocks removed), there are still various equipment and some grenades there. Because of the depth and size of the sunk ships, Nitrox is usually used for diving because of the longer no-stop time and shorter decompression stops.