Choose Your Activity
Choose Where You Sleep
- S/Y Truk Siren
- SS Thorfinn
Micronesia Liveaboard Diving

Choose where you sleep
- S/Y Truk Siren
- SS Thorfinn
The excitement of diving in Truk (Chuuk) is you get to see the final resting place for more than 100 ships, planes and submarines - the legacy of a fierce World War II battle between the Imperial Japanese Fleet and Allied carrier planes. It has been declared an underwater museum. Souvenir taking of relics from the area is prohibited by law.
The majority of the wrecks lie off DubIon, Eten, Fefan and Uman Islands and represent the largest naval loss in history. Their cargoes of tanks, trucks, airplanes, mines, bombs, machine gun bullets and thousands of other artifacts including beautiful china are there still to be explored.
The warm, tropical waters and prolific marine life has transformed the wrecks into artificial reefs and beautiful coral gardens. The main island of Weno (formerly Moen) is the capital and commercial center. For the best views of the lagoon, climb the old Sapuk Lighthouse, built during the Japanese occupation.
Nowhere else in the world are there so many wrecks in close proximity, situated in shallow clear water. Many of the wrecks are visible while snorkeling and there are many on-shore wartime locations to visit.
There are many fascinating and historic sites to visit in and around Truk (Chuuk). Snorkel or scuba diving in this maritime museum, spend the night on a small island, go on a fishing expedition with experienced local guides, or simply relax on a sandy beach or rent a kayak to get a view of life in Truk (Chuuk).
Siren
Departing from Weno Island, the S/Y Truk Siren offers 7-night and 10-night liveaboard diving trips that will take you directly to the main concentration of Japanese World War II ship wrecks lying within the Truk Lagoon. The liveaboard will moor over the deeper wrecks allowing divers to descend easily down the line directly to the wreckage. Tec divers will benefit from the support of the "mothership", 2 dinghies are able to shuttle less experienced divers to the shallower sites and offer reef diving as an alternative to the wrecks.
Many of the wrecks are "Maru" or merchant vessels that had been at anchor, some had been fortified with anti-aircraft weapons and many carried important army supplies including Zero Fighter aircraft parts, tanks, torpedo shells, trucks and road supplies.
The majority of the 61 sunken ships and aircraft from the Japanese fleet lie well within recreational limits and experienced divers will find plenty of sites to choose from during the course of the S/Y Truk Siren liveaboard safari.
Bottles, cooking utensils, items from everyday life and personal artifacts can be found in several of the wrecks, serving as a reminder to the visiting divers of those who lost their lives during the battle.
The more gruesome reminders of the conflict, such as human skulls, have since been removed and may now only be seldom seen in the deeper reaches of the wreckage.
Thorfinn
Thorfinn operates week-long schedules departing every Saturday.
A Friday morning arrival to Chuuk offer guest the option of proceeding direct to the SS Thorfinn, diving at mid-lagoon (if space permits), or overnighting on shore and boarding ship’s launches at 10:00am on Saturday from a hotel pier once departing guests have disembarked.
A direct Friday boarding provides a discounted extra day with up to 5 extra dives added to a regular week’s itinerary.
Captain, Dive Manager, and staff greet your arrival and lead to C deck’s main guest lounge for refreshments, room assignments, details of Chuuk’s history, the SS Thorfinn, and various diving procedures. After viewing certificates and related papers, lunch is served, diving gear assembled, and off to a first dive site by 2:00pm.
Your personal dive staff will note preferences of gear assembly, to ensure its continuing order through balance of stay. Camera equipment readied at C deck camera tables will be taken with care to your waiting launch’s camera shelves, if and as desired.
Mornings
Mornings begin with fresh coffee, hot tea and fresh morning baking at main guest lounge for early risers as a prelude to breakfast. A Full American breakfast menu is served at ship’s ‘D’ deck dining lounge by 7:00am. After a pre-dive lounge briefing, first dives are underway by 8:00am.
Daily Dives
Lounge briefings precede each dive selection starting with 8:00am departures from ship. Schedules are selected as desired by each dive group, or as posted to an early morning selection by your personal guides. Condensed excerpts and wreck sketches of daily dive selections are laid out for guest reading each morning.
An average 10 minute launch ride precedes securing to nearby dive sites, where launch staff will assist in final dive preps prior to water entries.
Cameras and lights are passed over when ready, followed by descent with guide and others down mooring line to selected shipwreck or reef site. Your dive guide will provide a brief dive plan before commencing each dive.
Much of Truk’s wartime fleet and armaments are surrounded with beautiful corals and brightly colored fish of intriguing variations in consistently warm water viz of 10-35m. Ocean reef dives present gin clear views of virgin wall life beyond most visitor’s dreams.
Your guide will lead to each site’s best interests, or follow divers wishing to find their own discoveries. A dive compass is recommended to maintain directions on many of the larger structures. Penetrations into fragile wrecks is permitted on a buddy basis, preferably with our experienced guides. Internal wreck dive procedures and navigation are seriously regarded for safety considerations.
Single cylinder air divers are advised to begin ascending a mooring line from depth with 70 bar remaining, to permit a 3 plateau rise. Stops are requested at 18m for 2 minutes, then at 9m for 3 minutes, and a final 10 minutes between 4 to 5m before rising to boat stairway. Stop times can be extended, but please not shortened. A safety air-filled cylinder is suspended at 6 meters for possible emergency, and is brought down to wreck sites below 45m for contingency use at depth, if needed. Nitrox for shallower depths is provided to suitably certified users.
On surfacing to aft boarding stairs of the launch, cameras, lights, and fins are passed up to waiting hands prior to mounting them. Fresh water showers, dry towels and cool drinking water are immediately available prior to return ride to ship. Boat crews are ready to rinse and stow dive equipment and photo gear without need for guest assistance. Warm water deck showers at both sides of ship arrival points serve to freshen up before proceeding to inner or upper quarters.
Snacks and refreshments await at guest lounge or aft deck spa during relaxing surface breaks between a scheduled 4 daily dives, and after evening night dives.
Surface Breaks
Wide selections of DVD films/movies are available from a central library for viewing at main lounge’s 50” LED TV, or at smaller sets in each guest room. Underwater photos/videos can be viewed at these sets also. A ship’s store/boatique offers many items of interest in books, handicrafts, postcards and T shirts. Reading libraries in various languages and topics are located in main lounge, dining room, and at ship’s office.
Spacious sun decks and lounging chairs provide tanning locations, or shade under awnings to read a book and enjoy refreshments. After dark, often brilliant night skies can be viewed by star gazers sitting out or laying back in the big Jacuzzi deck spa. Deck towels are readied at camera table racks for use as desired.
Night Dive
After supper night dives complete a choice of 5 dives/day, and are offered every evening that conditions permit… only requiring one diver or more to enjoy vivid corals and nocturnal aqua life on many sites.
Dispatch
Within Truk, the SS Thorfinn moves among several central anchorages depending on diver loads/schedules and prevailing weather. With lighter parties, Thorfinn's speedy launches are the quickest way to a broad choice of surrounding wreck sites, just minutes away. With larger parties, Thorfinn will steam silently to several locations for shortest runs in close proximities.
When diving outer islands and reefs, the steam powered Thorfinn moves silently at night to fresh locations for a new day’s dive selection. Seldom dived outer reef/island destinations present a beauty of near virgin worlds with incredibly bright aquatic life.
Visitors braving engine room warmths to view the huge steam machinery in operation are often mesmerised by gleaming piston rods driving a massive open crankshaft. The SS Thorfinn’s entire propulsive system is driven by steam produced from two USA built Foster Wheeler water tube boilers. Numerous pieces of steam machinery operate whisper quiet in comparison to diesel sounds.
Final Day
Final Fridays are concluded with an evening aft deck barbecue party, often followed with ‘local motions’ by ship’s staff displaying Pacific Island dancing that often leads into lively party music for guest evening enjoyment! Lasting impressions of happy people after a fulfilling week will linger from this friendly tropic world.
Visits to adjacent islands within Truk for views of a basic tropic lifestyle and various ruins left from a past Japanese era are freely available on request.
Trips ending on Saturday see departing guests packing and departing with farewells by mid-morning back to Weno, Chuuk’s main commercial island for an afternoon departure to other worlds.
E Pack | Sunrise Special | Rebreather Plan | Truk Tek |
$1,950 | $2,550 | $2,795 | $2,995 |
7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
3 daily Air dives | Up to 5 Daily Dives | Up to 5 Daily Dives | Up to 5 Daily Dives |
21 Dive Sites | More Wrecks | More Wrecks | More Wrecks |
Free Nitrox | Free Nitrox | Custom dive schedule | |
Free Rebreather cyclinder hire | Extended Deep Dives | ||
Free Rebreather Refills | Double Cyclinders | ||
Free Rebreather Sofnolime | + Stage/Pony Cyclinder |
Charter: Thorfinn is availble for charter for groups of between 12 and 20 people. Please ask Symbiosis Custom Travel about price.
The S/Y Truk Siren
The new additional liveaboard to the Siren family is the S/Y Truk Siren, built in 2009 and will be start operating in 2014. This Traditional “gaft-rigged phinisi”, handcrafted from ironwood and teak.
The S/Y Truk Siren offers ample room for 16 guests in 8 comfortable cabins in both double and twin bed. There are 2 triple bed cabins which may be used for full charter trips to suit the needs of guests. Each cabins equipped with air-conditioning, personal audio-visual entertainment system and bathrooms each with hot water through adjustable electric heaters. Over bed reading lights and individual controls for air-conditioning are provided, as well as cupboards, an in-cupboard safety-box and a hairdryer. Each guest is provided with 1 bath & 1 hand towel plus a cotton bathrobe.
A covered outdoor dining and refreshment area offers a superb setting and all meals are served buffet style. A large air-conditioning lounge with cocktail bar, sofas, 42 inch flatscreen and movie network and library of book and games. There is an open sun-deck on the upper deck equipped with 8 comfortable cushioned loungers.
Services
The housekeeping services will help launders your clothes and return back at the same day (0.50 euro per item). The S/Y Truk Siren also offering massage service which available for 3 hours daily, Yacht boutique that includes a range of Siren Fleet clothing reef hooks and nudi-pointers and last but not least Kayaks which is FREE of charge for guests use!
Diving
The S/Y Truk Siren shaded dive deck is spacious with individual set up stations and storage drawers plus, there is a Gas blending station for higher % of O2 fills and Tri-mix blending. Guests are provided with a 15l or 12l aluminum tank and weight belt. Basic Aqua Lung scuba equipment rental (BCD, Regulator, 3mm wetsuit, mask & fins) and SMB (safety sausage) are provided free of charge! Manifold twin-tanks are available upon request for an additional fee.
Enriched Air Nitrox is FREE for all certified Nitrox divers. The instructors can teach you the Enriched air diver specialty, if you are not a certified diving with Nitrox.
Photographers
For the underwater photographers and videographers, The S/Y Truk Siren liveaboard is providing both indoor and outdoor designated areas for charging and preparation of their cameras and video equipment.
The SS Thorfinn
SS Thorfinn offers continuous non-stop diving, 7 days per week, with up to 5 dives per day, on 5 differing sites – giving opportunity to view 30+ wrecks during a one week visit. Thorfinn’s structures and safety gear comply with IMO (International Maritime Organization) standards.
Operating as eco-friendly as possible, Thorfinn utilses island power plant waste lubes for its primary heating fuel under boilers driving it’s steam propulsion system.
Twenty-two island staff provide cheerful personalised service on a 1:1 crew to guest ratio. They range from individually assigned dive crews attending each diver’s needs, to full time hostesses, deck maintenance staff, large machinery staff, and 2 chefs preparing varieties of tasty international cuisine. Special dietary requests are catered as available food supplies permit.
All diving is conducted from well designed, covered 30ft tenders with each craft diving separate sites to avoid crowding over a single mooring. Diving in small groups, experienced local guides will show the very best attractions at each site. Many have been with Thorfinn for more than 15 years.
Guest Rooms
Eleven air conditioned staterooms accommodate 22 guests in double occupancy. All have in room vanities, TV’s and DVD players, indirect lighting and full length closets. Eight rooms located on ‘D’ and ‘E’ decks have double or queen size beds plus adjacent single berths. Private showers and toilets are fitted in each of these rooms. Three additional rooms on ‘C’ deck are bright and spacious with two shared shower rooms and two shared toilets.
The crew of Thorfinn are accustomed to working with technical and rebreather divers, supplying banded double cylinders, 3-4 ltr pony bottles, and special rebreather bottles as needed. Both SodaSorb or Sofnolime are freely supplied, Optional Helium should be advance requested to ensure sufficient on-hand quantities. Partial pressure blending via an efficient series of electric and air driven gas boosters produce various mixes of Enriched Air Nitrox and Trimix to meet individual requests. Aboard Thorfinn, you’ll receive rewarding experiences in technical diving with ability to extend diving at many deeper sites.
Dining Lounge
Dedicated dining lounge on ‘D’ deck provides seating for 22 guests. Friendly dining room staff serve breakfast cooked to order and other meals a la carte. Two chefs create a variety of delicious meals and daily fresh baked goods, with attention paid to all dietary needs. An additional bookcase here houses overflows of the many books in our library – feel free to leave a finished book and take a different one for the journey home. Out of meal times this is a quiet place to work on photos, or play a lively game of cards!
Guest Lounge
A spacious comfortably furnished ‘C’ deck salon features a multi system Plasma TV with DVD player, a CD player with IPOD connection, and a surround sound 4 way speaker system. A well stocked DVD and paperback book library, magazine rack, reference books (fish, wrecks) are all available for guest use. Indirect lighting, large view windows and comfortable seating make this a popular guest area. The bar provides a range of beverages – from coffee, tea, hot chocolate and soft drinks, to beers, wines and spirits at reasonable cost.
Spa Deck
This ‘C’ deck location aft of main guest lounge is favored after a dive or late at night with both south and northern constellations in clear view. With good music playing on outdoor aft speakers, a refreshment in hand and perhaps the right company …what more to perfection..? Our big commercial sized tub seats 12 persons by design, and has actually had 26 party animals squeezed in for a New Year’s initiation ball. This ocean water system is supplied by coolant water flows from auxiliary diesels in engine room. Powerful jets can help to massage away any aches or strains at the end of another busy day.
Sun Deck
A popular daytime haunt up on ‘B’ deck, with sun loungers for sun addicts. An overhead shade canopy provides cool shade while reading a book or enjoying a magnificent view of Paradise.
Ship Specifications
- Length: overall 170ft / 58m
- Beam: 30ft / 10m
- Draft: 17ft / 5.5m
- Displacement: 1,100 tons
- Fuel Capacity: 100,000 gals
- Consumption/Speed: 7 tons/day &12 kts, 11 tons/day @ 17 kts.
- Water Capacity: 18,000 gals
- Cruising Range: 12,000 naut. miles @ 12 knots cruising
- Maximum Speed: 17 knots
- Original Construction:
- Stord Shipyards, Norway, 1954 – as Ice Class Antarctic whaler
- Major Reconstruction:
- Batangas, Philippines 2008 – major repairs, internal/external rebuildings
- Batangas, Philippines, 2005 – steel replacement / renewal, extensive renovations
- Cairns, Australia, 1995/6 – extensive renovations, upgrades
- Vancouver, B.C., 1977 – to Charter cruiser
Accommodations / Facilities:
- 11 double occupancy rooms for 22 guests.
- 13 Toilets, 11 Showers, eight in private facility guest rooms.
- ‘A’ deck with topside controls, electronics mast.
- ‘B’deck with navigation bridge forward, chartroom/business center, liferafts, emergency beacons, dive launch storage, aft sun deck with lounge chairs and shade canopy.
- ‘C’ deck Guest Lounge seating 30 persons, bar, DVD and reading library, surround sound CD/player with I-pod connex, 44in. multi System Plasma TV, guest PC with SatCom Internet. Guestrooms 9,10,11.
- ‘C’ deck Spa Area with 11 person spa, 2 camera service/storage tables, adjacent deck chairs.
- ‘D’ deck forward interior with Dining Room, 5 tables seating 26 persons, view windows, galley, bookcase.
- ‘D’ deck aft interior with Boatique (Handicrafts, t-shirts, post cards, dive service center, steering flat. Guestrooms 1,2,3.
- ‘D’ deck exterior with Port / Starbrd dive decks each with shower, rinse tub, filling station, tank racks, gear bins.
- ‘E’ deck with Guest rooms 4,5,6,7,8.
Communications:
- 1 x Icom IC-M 700 Med. Freq. SSB radio telephones
- 1 x Icom IC-M 80 25w VHF radio telephone
- 1 x Sailor RT 144 25 wVHF radio telephone
- 3x Standard Horizon 25w VHF radio telephones, 2 located on dive launches
- 1 x Alden Marinefax IV weather facsimile unit
- 1 x Kenwood R-2000 multi-band radio receiver
- 4 x standard Mod. HX 250S hand held portable VHF r/t’s
- 1 x Trimble Galaxy Sentinel Inmarsat-C Comsat terminal
- 1x JRC JUE-410F Inmarsat Fleet F77 Comsat terminal
- 1 x Globe Wireless i4 Integrator for Iridium, F77, and IOP Internet Broadband provisos for guest and ship use.
Dive Air Compressors:
- 1 x Bauer Model K 15 units producing 21 cfm to 5000 psi)
- 1 x Bauer/Poseidon P 201 of 7.5 cfm to 5,000 psi
Dive Equipment:
- Dive cylinders: 60 pcs 80 cu. ft standard alloy 3200 psi / 210 bar and 20 pcs pony cyls of 2 – 4 ltr capy.
- Air storage: 6000 cu. ft. system @ 5000 psi
- Fill stations: 2 x 4 cyl. manifold setups Port / Starb’rd – in water filling
- Rentals (6 full sets of gear incl. computers, reg’s, BCD’s, fins, masks, lights).
- Oxygen Generators: 2 x OGSI Mod. producing 3 K cyls daily
- O2 Blending System for EAN Nitrox provisos – via 2 stage Haskell Booster
Diving launches
- 2 x 30 ft RIB Heavy Duty Aluminum, covered – Twin Yamaha 150′s
- 2 x 24 ft Kellahan Mfg heavy duty alloy modified V, with twin Yamaha 60′s
- 1 x 24 ft Ozawa heavy duty modified fiberglass, with twin Yamaha 40′s