Revision 1/17/2014 7:35 PM by Matt736
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SMS Cormoran/Tokai Maru
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The 290’ Cormoran lays in 120 feet of water on her left (port) side directly beside the Tokai Maru (which went down in 1943).
DIVING TIPS: The easiest way to reach the Cormoran (and dive on two ships from two different wars at the same time) is to follow the midsection hull of the Tokai over the side until you see the Cormoran at 80 feet. The hull of the Cormoran is intact and the first thing you’ll see is the after steering deck house.
You can descend to the propeller shaft and touch both of the wrecks here. The midship section of the Cormoran is intact and the engine room is easily accessible through the skylights, and most of the superstructure is relatively accessible.
Just behind the bridge there are two open cargo loading doors, and descending into this area leads you to the insides of the ship.
Visibility averages 25-60’, but can vary due to the tide and large ship traffic in the harbor. A good average diving depth to see all of the starboard side would be 80-100 feet.
This wreck is a very good wreck for NITROX divers because of the average dive depth between 80-110 ft. You can ascend up the side of the Tokai Maru and do a safety stop on the buoy lines attached to the Tokai.
The Tokai Maru was built in 1930 as a combined passenger ship and long range freighter. It’s 440 feet long and 60 feet wide and has two large diesel engines and five cargo holds.
The Tokai was damaged by the USS Flying Fish and later sunk by the USS Snapper (both United States fleet submarines) in World War II. Coincidentally, the ship sunk adjacent to the SMS Cormoran, which was sunk during World War I. This is a unique site because it holds two wrecks from two separate wars.
The Tokai is lying at on steep incline on her port side and is in very good condition considering her age. This is a very big ship and divers can see the entire length by staying between 60-80ft and swimming slowly over the main deck.
Bomb damaged can be found on the bow and the actual torpedo hole that sunk her is in the #4 hold. There is very little in the holds and there’s still crude oil trapped in the forward "tween" decks.
The shallowest part of the wreck is at the forward part of the bridge, around 45ft, and the deepest deck level is at the stern around 80ft. There are at least 4 depth charges, which look like large barrels, laying in the silt inside the stern on the port side. You can clearly see these, but don’t touch them.
The Tokai is a perfect wreck for NITROX divers.
The German ship SMS Cormoran can be found by following the side contours directly below the aft portion of the bridge down to 80 feet.
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