Wreck Diving in Malapascua, Philippines

From beginner to technical diver, Malapascua has a wreck for you! If you've heard that Coron is the only place in the Philippines with good wreck diving, think again!

Lighthouse Wreck 5m / 15ft

The wreck at Lighthouse was a Japanese World War II landing craft. It was bombed just before landing with a large shipment of cement destined for a gun emplacement. The wreck is in very shallow water - 3m average - and is broken up with the hull in two pieces. The rocks that you will see are actually bags of cement! Things that you can see around the wreck include yellow-tailed barracuda, hermit crabs, octopus, pipefish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, and banded sea snakes. Nearby is Lighthouse West - easily reached from the wreck to see abundant mandarinfish and seahorses.

Dona Marilyn Wreck 18m-32m / 60ft-110ft

At almost 100m long, the Dona Marilyn was a Cebu-Manila passenger ferry that sank in a typhoon 20 years ago. It was a huge disaster and many people lost their lives. It is now lying on its starboard side, amazingly still all in one piece. Marble rays, blue-spotted rays and whitetip sharks live under the bow and eagle rays and devil rays sometimes pass through. The wreck is covered in a healthy growth of soft coral, and the fish that live there grow to a large size. Several varieties of sweetlips grow bigger here than at any of our other dive sites and the juveniles are often seen. Large cuttlefish and scorpionfish are common as well as nudibranchs and flatworms. A giant moray eel is living in the wreck. You can also see many of the beautiful purple fire sea urchins around, accompanied by their resident zebra crabs and Coleman's shrimp. Penetration is possible for qualified divers. There is lots to see inside as it has remained unsalvaged. The photo above shows a similar ferry today.

Tapilon Wreck 22m-28m / 70ft-90ft

A World War II Japanese cargo carrier, the wreck at Tapilon was hit by torpedoes. It now lies in several sections, though is still recognizable as a boat. There is an abundance of life on this wreck and it is covered in beautiful soft coral. Swirling around it are thousands of small barracuda - an incredible sight. This wreck is worth diving for the barracuda alone! There are also many species of flat worms, nudibranchs, moray eels, cuttlefish, squid, and scorpion fish. Huge marble rays are sometimes seen, as well as the fire sea urchin and its accompanying urchin crab and Coleman's shrimp. Sometimes we have several ornate ghost pipefish and frogfish in residence.

MV Asia Wreck 26m / 85ft

MV Asia is a great wreck for penetration as the decks are so open and it is relatively safe. The wreck sank several years ago and lies on its side with one prop still on the boat. A must for wreck lovers.

Pioneer Wreck 42m- 54m / 140ft-170ft

Because it is so deep, this Japanese World War II wreck is still in great condition. It was a gunboat in the war, and as you descend, you will see the guns pointing upwards towards you! It is about 60m long, in the upright position and still mostly in one piece. There is a torpedo hit on on the stern but the prop is still remaining. The wreck has plentiful fish life including sharks, rays, barracuda and groupers. This is a deep dive and is for those trained in decompression diving only.

As TSD Tec expands, we are starting to look for new wrecks. We ahve heard there are several in the 70-100 meter range. If you are interested in such a trip, let us know.