Monad Shoal
A plateau where thresher sharks rise at dawn to visit cleaning stations.
- Advanced
- Pinnacle
- Bull sharks
Technical
Mogami Maru
Dive site in Malapascua, Philippines
Upright WWII Japanese wreck on sand at just over 50 m, dived by technical divers only.
- Max depth
- 50 m
- Level
- Technical
- Best months
- Dec–May
The story
Known as the Pioneer, after the passenger ship M/V Pioneer Cebu reportedly sunk in 1966, this wreck lying at 52 m is thought by some local divers to be the Mogami Maru, a World War II Japanese sub chaser sunk in 1944.
Source: gmanetwork.com
The dive
A wreck dive.
Who it's for
TechnicalSource: divernet.com
Recommended minimum: Technical (Tec, cave, trimix, rebreather).
- DepthThe usual dive goes deeper than lower certifications allow.
- DecompressionThe usual profile involves planned decompression stops.
Conditions
- Dive type
- Wreck
- Environment
- Open water
- Water
- Sea water
Season in Malapascua
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Best months: Dec–May.
Source: zubludiving.comWhere is Malapascua?
The point shows the Malapascua area, not the exact dive site.
More dives in Malapascua
Kalanggaman Island
Sandbar island with drop-offs where turtles patrol the walls and a thresher shark occasionally appears.
- Advanced
- Wall
- Thresher sharks
Capitancillo Island
- Advanced
- Wall
Macro
down to 20 m
Chocolate Island Malapascua
Shallow soft-coral site in the 5-12 m range, a photographers' favourite by day or night.
- Open Water
- Frogfish
Pinnacle
down to 34 m
Deep Rock Malapascua
Rocky pinnacle from 14 m to 34 m north of the port, where tide changes bring intermediate to strong current.
- Experienced
- Blue-ringed octopus
Pinnacle
down to 40 m
Kimud Shoal
Since 2022 the main thresher shark cleaning station, with a plateau at 12 m and cleaning from 12 to 22 m.
- Advanced
- Manta rays
About this page
Values marked “Estimated” come from our original catalogue and are being checked against published sources one by one. Sourced values link to where they come from. Conditions change with the season, the weather and the tide: confirm with a local dive centre before you dive.
Photo credits
- Monad Shoal dive site, Malapascua, Jun V Lao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kalanggaman Island sandbar, Gcabig2024, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Capitancillo Islet and its lighthouse, tacit requiem (joanneQEscober ) from Marikina City, Philippines, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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