Kitsugawa Maru

Kitsugawa Maru

Depth: 65-130 feet

The Kitsugawa Maru (Kitz) was sunk while at anchor by torpedo bombing attacks during the pre-invasion campaign. Due to her engine room flooding and settling to the bottom quickly, she sits upright with the bow facing to the east. The ship had 5-6 sister ships and was constructed in 1939. All of these ships were cheaply made and had coal burning steam engines.  Some of this coal can still be found on the Tokai Maru.

This is one on my favorite dive sites. Locating the wreck requires skill from the boat captain and deckhand. There is no permanent mooring line, so the boat crew must locate and set a float to the wreck. As you descend down the float guideline there is nothing to see but the particles drifting around you for the first 40 feet. This can be a little scary, but are the same time exciting. Scary because, what if you can’t find the wreck? But exciting when you start to see the outline of the Kitz. The forward mast is collapsed on the starboard side.  The most photographed part of the ship is the large bow gun complete with ammunition cases and ammo. The kingpost and upright stern mast and the upper superstructure make this a very interesting wreck to dive on.  The hatches are empty, so don’t waste your bottom time looking.  The stern section (after the last hold) is heavily bomb damaged and collapsed.

The shallowest part of the wreck is the stern mast, which is at 65 ft. Divers should plan for depths between 80-120 feet to see most of the wreck. This wreck is very good for NITROX divers because of the average dive depth is between 80-110 ft. I would recommend a blend of 32%. If you are not PADI Enriched Air (Nitrox) certified. Contact the MDA store, we can have you Nitrox certified in on day. 

Michael Schuck