A thick chain hanging from the bow runs along the sandy bottom to where the anchor lies. A diver checks out the cannon on a sunken World War II Japanese ship, one of 40 ships sunk in a massive US air attack in 1944. Known as the 'ghost fleet,' the site has become the one of the most popular diving locales. Visiting divers steal smaller objects and tamper or disrupt larger ones, hastening their deterioration. Yacht anchors, diver activity, and dynamite explosions damage or weaken the sunken ships.
Nature does the rest, corroding metal and occasionally battering the ships with powerful typhoons.
Now I don't like to dive anymore. Each time he'd return to a wreck, more objects would be missing - porcelain serving platters, brass lanterns, ship's wheels, weapons, and ammunition. The intact bridge of the destroyed Fumizuki was completely destroyed when a large ship dropped its anchor on it. Map by Dave Herring Dynamite fishing has triggered the collapse of the mast, bulkheads, and smokestack of the Fujikawa Maru, one of the most visited wrecks. The Sankisan's bridge and masts have also collapsed after yacht collisions, diver activity, and a typhoon.