Liveaboard Diving in Iro Maru Wreck

What to expect on an Iro Maru Wreck Liveaboard

Liveaboards to the Iro Maru wreck means exploring probably the most famous wreck in Palau. It is 143m (470ft) long and the deck lies at 25m (85ft) below the surface. This Japanese navy oiler sank back in 1944 right next to one of its sister ships after an attack while it was on its way from Micronesia to the Philippines. It is located at Urukthapel Anchorage, 15 minutes southeast off the coast of Koror. When liveaboard diving at the Iro Maru Wreck you'll notice the visibility can vary a lot, at its best it will be around 30m (100ft) and at its worst 10m (30ft). The visibility is very much dependent on the number of divers because there is a lot of thick sediment under, around on, and on the wreck, which if disturbed, will decrease the visibility. There are luckily no currents in this area to stir up the sediment making an Iro Maru Wreck liveaboard the perfect addition to your Palau itinerary.

It is very important to be a confident diver to dive here, there are a lot of dangers involved with diving in a wreck, so confidence is key. If you want to penetrate the wreck, then you do need to have a wreck diver certification. Most liveaboards that go around Palau will visit Iro Maru. As it is close to the coast it is generally one of the first or one of the last sites the liveaboard will visit.

What You Can see

Firstly, what makes this wreck impressive is that it is still standing upright, so you get a complete view of the ship. Over the many years of this ship being underwater, it has created its own, very remarkable little ecosystem. The deck is filled with zigzag clams, oysters, invertebrates of many species but especially Nudibranchs. There are numerous amounts of corals that have grown on and around the ship such as Mushroom Corals, Staghorn Corals, Brain Corals, and Lettuce Corals. There is also an impressive collection of Black Coral Trees growing here.

You will encounter many schools of colorful fish, but some of the most colorful marine life here are the anemones that are all around, inhabited by the charming tomato clownfish. Apart from marine life, there are still a lot of WWII artifacts, including some live ammunition, so it is VERY important to not touch anything in this wreck. There are also still two large guns, one located on the stern and the other on the bow.

Getting to Iro Maru Wreck

To get to this site, or to get to any Micronesia liveaboards which will be visiting this area, you will need to make your way to Koror, which is the largest city in Palau. The airport is located on the island of Babeldaob which is connected by a bridge to Koror. The airport is called The Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. There are only five destinations that have outgoing flights to Palau, so you would have to fly to one of these first; Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Guam. Once in Palau, all Iro Maru Wreck liveaboards will depart from the Malakal Harbour in Koror.


Iro Maru Wreck Diving Reviews

  • 9.5 Exceptional
  • 36 Verified Reviews
  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Vincent L
  • United States United States

One of the most interesting wrecks I've do so far.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in September on the Palau Siren

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Daniel P
  • United States United States

Fascinating. A fairly large wreck with lots of artifacts, especially. Near the mourning line at the end of the dive.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in September on the Palau Siren

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Fred G
  • United States United States

Iro Maru is an interesting dive with many things to discover

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in January on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Edna D
  • United States United States

Great experience diving this nearly intact ship wreck with impressive gun turrets. Not a wreck penetration dive.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in March on the Solitude One

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Loren R
  • United States United States

Fascinating. Because it was an old wreck, the coral coverage was wonderfully complete.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in October on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Nick Z
  • United States United States

Sunken World War II ships make good coral beds and fish habitats.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in October on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jesus S
  • United States United States

Interesting, amazing what Mother Nature has done.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in November on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jennifer C
  • United States United States

Beautiful wreck with cool corals and fish.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in January on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Daniel B
  • United States United States

Weather played a significant role, but visibility was poor, and We actually lost sight of everyone for large portions of the dive.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in February on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jason C
  • United States United States

The history for this wreck is interesting and there was a lot of colorful life on the night dive

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • BRYAN M
  • United States United States

Very cool, low visibility when we went.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Angela T
  • United States United States

The vis was bad, and people easily lost the group - but we are all experienced divers, so it was easy to end the dive somewhere over the wreck and get picked up by the skiff.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Tymur V
  • United States United States

It was an okay wreck dive. Anemones on the spire was the highlight

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in February on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Henry D
  • United States United States

Birds nest was interesting. Rest of the wreck was nothing special.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in February on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Fred H
  • Australia Australia

We dived the IRO twice. This is a very deep dive as 472 foot long ship has the top of its stern sitting at 27 meters (90 feet). The rear gun is intact as are some of the interior toilets, beds, etc. The pilot house has fallen in the last 8 years. Vis varies greatly and water colour too!

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in June on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Christoph B
  • Germany Germany

very good wreck! Lots of things to see (sea live, wreck constructions). Easy to dive but lots of fun.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in September on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Jukka Arimatias R
  • Finland Finland

Nice and easy wreck to dive to!

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Solitude One

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Yves D
  • France France

It is perhaps the only relative disappointment since the day of the dive, visibility was particularly poor

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Neville D
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Vis was not to good so did not see a lot of the wreck

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Solitude One

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Rudy W
  • Canada Canada

Poor visibility, could hardly see it

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Solitude One

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Steven C
  • Germany Germany

It is an interesting world war two wrack. You can hardly see the canons as they are covered with corals and the artifacts have been removed, but still a nice dive.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in September on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Yuka F
  • Japan Japan

Less visibility but well reserved.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in January on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Fraser G
  • Canada Canada

Decent wartime wreck. Swam through one torpedo hole, and along the deck, but didn't really enter the wreck in any meaningful way.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in March on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Luis L
  • Canada Canada

Great wreck. You can penetrate it in several places.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in March on the Palau Aggressor II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Soojin E
  • South Korea South Korea

The visibility was not very good, but it was fantastic to see various macro creatures living in the wreck and fish that can only be found in Palau.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in April on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Hsiaohsuan C
  • Taiwan Taiwan

the visibility was not that great but still cool.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in May on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Daniel P
  • Switzerland Switzerland

The wreck is so full of life. Lots of soft corals as anemones

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in November on the Rock Islands Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sahiba S
  • India India

Pretty cool. I’m not a big wreck diver, and the visibility was not great, but it was incredible to see how covered in coral it has become.

Diving Iro Maru Wreck in December on the Solitude One