Kizugawa Maru (, きづがわまる), or Kitsugawa Maru, 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 scuttling by shore guns on June 27, 1944. The shipwreck is now a deep recreational diving site.
History
On April 8, 1944, she was part of a supply convoy from
Saipan to the garrison at
Woleai,
when she was damaged in the port engine room
by a torpedo attack by about off the eastern coast of Guam at . She was then towed to
Apra Harbor for repairs by the destroyer
Minazuki .
Thirty-seven of her sailors were killed in the attack.
In the same attack,
Seahorse fatally damaged the munitions transport
Aratama Maru, which grounded itself in
Talofofo Bay.
At the time, Guam was occupied by the Japanese after being captured from the U.S. in 1941.
During the U.S. Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, Kizugawa Maru was further damaged during an air raid on 11 April, and again on 11 and 27 June. Declared beyond repair after the raid on the 27 June, she was scuttled by shore gunfire.
Dive site
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
Chuuk Lagoon."
The top of Kizugawa Maru's mast is at , while the bow gun sits at . Damage from six bombs is at , with the silt bottom of the harbor at . 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 diving considering penetration are further cautioned about plentiful silt, as well as twisted metal around the engine room and holds.
In October 2023, a large vessel anchored on or near the Kitzugawa Maru, ripping the deck gun off of the deck, knocking the mast off and damaging the bow. The gun now sits in 137 feet of water, upside down, in the silt on her port side.
- Commonly referred to in diving-related sources as "Kitsugawa Maru." Appears to be a result of a misreading of づ () for つ (). Presumed to be named after Kizu River.
See also
-
Underwater diving on Guam
