MS Chikuzen Maru
Refrigerated Cargo Vessel · Korea · Lost 1981 · The Lesser Antilles
A Korean cold-storage fishing vessel set ablaze and cast adrift from Sint Maarten in 1981, drifting to sink off Tortola.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Chikuzen Maru was a Japanese-built refrigerated vessel used to support Korean and Japanese fishing fleets, based at Sint Maarten. Facing an approaching storm and the cost of removing the aging ship, her owners set her afire and cast her adrift in 1981. She drifted roughly 70 miles to the British Virgin Islands, evading efforts by tugboats to tow her away, before finally sinking northwest of Tortola.
Vessel
- 1960
- Not established
- Shimizu, Japan
- Steel
- 246 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Diesel, single screw
- Not established
Loss
- September 1, 1981
- Intentional sinking
- Northwest of Tortola, British Virgin Islands
- Caribbean Sea
- Sint Maarten → Set adrift, no destination
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 40-75
- Lying on its port side, largely intact
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 18.50° N 64.75° W
- Approximate position
- Northwest of Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Rounded position roughly 7.5 miles northwest of Tortola as described in dive operator accounts.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)
Precise date of final sinking and full construction specifications are not established in the sources reviewed.
Sinking narrative and dive site description.
