Palau Sport — a refitted wreck-and-reef liveaboard in Coron

Palau Sport is for divers who want Coron’s wrecks without giving up reef and unusual inland dives. The route moves between intact Japanese ships, coral-covered pinnacles, a gunboat in the shallows and Barracuda Lake, where temperature changes through distinct thermoclines. Four dives per day are published, so the boat suits a trip built around time underwater rather than a short list of excursions. A 2022 renovation gives the 1990-built vessel a recent update, while its 24-passenger layout keeps the trip focused on diving, meals and recovery between entries. The choice is straightforward: come for a broad Coron itinerary, regular diving and access to sites that range from a 12-metre gunboat to a 45-metre wreck.

From the dock, Palau Sport presents as a working dive vessel rather than a private yacht. The 2022 renovation is the useful fact here: the boat has an older hull beneath a recent refit, which makes it a practical base for a wreck-heavy itinerary. Inside, there is an air-conditioned salon; outside, a terrace, observation deck and barbecue area give divers places to spread out between dives. Movement is organised around the dive platform and the shaded dive space, with two tenders handling the trips to and from the sites. Cabins and common areas are joined by the essentials of a long diving trip: hot showers, daily housekeeping, charging stations and a photo area. WiFi is available as a paid service.

The atmosphere is shaped less by formal luxury than by a boat arranged around diving. An English-speaking local and international crew runs the practical side of the trip, from meals and cabin care to the dive platform and tender movements. The salon, bar, terrace and outdoor dining area give a group several ways to spend the evening after the last entry. Audio and video entertainment is available, but the stronger reason to stay outside is the deck itself: a place to talk through the wreck just visited, check images and prepare for the next dive. Palau Sport suits divers comfortable sharing a working liveaboard with up to 24 passengers, rather than travellers looking for a quiet charter with no group rhythm.

The route is a concentrated tour of Coron and Palawan wrecks. At Sangat Sub-Chaser, the intact Japanese WWII sub-chaser rests upright on a slope, with its bow at 3 metres and a maximum depth of -18m; Sangat Coral Gardens reaches -25m across a protected reef ecosystem. Sangat House Reef drops to -28m through coral formations, seagrass and reef life directly from shore. In Coron, Lusong Gunboat reaches -12m over a 25-metre Japanese hull on a coral reef, while Twin Peaks reaches -25m across two coral-covered pinnacles. Cathedral Cave reaches -30m, with geological formations and shafts of light. Barracuda Lake reaches -40m through distinct thermoclines. The wrecks range from Olympia Maru at -30m and Okikawa Maru at -26m to Kogyo Maru at -36m, Akitsushima at -38m, Kyokuzan Maru at -42m and Irako at -45m, known for deep wreck penetration. Regular Southern Trips run 10 days and 9 nights from Coron Port back to Coron Port; the Southern transition trip runs 13 days and 12 nights from Danglayan Port to Coron Port.

Sangat Sub-Chaser →

Max. depth · 18 m

Sangat Coral Gardens →

Max. depth · 25 m

Sangat House Reef →

Max. depth · 28 m

Lusong Gunboat →

Max. depth · 12 m

Twin Peaks →

Max. depth · 25 m

Cathedral Cave →

Max. depth · 30 m

Barracuda Lake →

Max. depth · 40 m

Olympia Maru →

Max. depth · 30 m

Okikawa Maru →

Max. depth · 26 m

Kogyo Maru →

Max. depth · 36 m

Akitsushima →

Max. depth · 38 m

Kyokuzan Maru →

Max. depth · 42 m

Irako →

Max. depth · 45 m

Hard corals recur across the reef sites, especially around Sangat Coral Gardens, Sangat Sub-Chaser and Sangat House Reef. The more specific encounters give each stop its own reason to descend: juvenile batfish, crocodilefish, moray eels and cuttlefish are recorded at Sangat Sub-Chaser, while Sangat House Reef can bring groupers, clownfish, pufferfish, parrotfish, lionfish, damselfish and wrasse among its hard and soft corals. Barracuda Lake is the place for barracuda and shrimp, alongside rabbitfish, in a freshwater dive whose thermoclines become more pronounced with depth. Twin Peaks is where sea turtles and butterflyfish may appear among the pinnacles, with angelfish and other reef fish on the coral. The sightings are site-specific possibilities, not guarantees; the route’s strength is the change from reef life to wreck structure, lake layers and cavern light.

Clownfish →

Amphiprion ocellaris

Pufferfish →

Tetraodontidae

Lionfish →

Pterois volitans

The crew speaks English, and diving is organised around the boat’s regular programme of four dives per day. Private dive guiding is available as an optional extra, as are scuba-diving certification courses; a private guide is therefore possible when a group needs more individual attention. The available information does not give guide-to-diver ratios, instructor qualifications, a minimum logged-dive requirement or a detailed briefing system. Safety equipment includes oxygen, first-aid kits, life rafts, life jackets, fire alarms and extinguishers, emergency flares, radar, sonar, GPS and marine radios. A locator beacon and mobile and satellite phones add communications redundancy, while engine-room video surveillance supports monitoring from the vessel.

The dive setup is built for repeated entries: a shaded dive area, platform, rinse tanks, DIN adapters and two tenders for transfers to the sites. Nitrox is available as an optional extra, and sidemount diving is supported. Rental equipment is available, but the listed information does not detail tank material or volume, compressor type, SMB provision or equipment brands. Oxygen and first-aid kits are carried on board. After a dive, the platform and tenders keep the return process separate from the living spaces, while the rinse tanks give cameras and equipment somewhere to go before the next meal or briefing. Divers using DIN can connect directly; others should check the adapter arrangement for their own configuration.

Between dives, the shaded dive area is the natural place to come back to the boat, remove the kit and let the tender traffic pass. The terrace and observation deck offer the alternative when there is time to sit in the sun or watch the coast. Inside, the air-conditioned salon gives cameras and divers a cooler refuge, with audio and video entertainment for the longer gaps. A photo area, charging stations and WiFi support the habits of a diving trip, while the outdoor dining space and bar keep the evening from being confined to the salon. On a no-dive afternoon, the boat has enough separate places to choose shade, air conditioning or an open view.

A day on Palau Sport is built around four dives, with food and snacks filling the spaces between them. The first briefing and entry come before the boat moves on to the next site; after surfacing, divers return through the tenders or onto the platform, rinse equipment and find a place in the shade, salon or on deck. Meals divide the day without interrupting the main purpose of the trip, and the next dive follows once divers, cameras and tanks are ready. Some gaps are spent underway between Coron and Palawan sites; others leave time for the terrace, observation deck or a quiet hour in the air-conditioned salon. Night dives are available as an optional extra. The exact order depends on the itinerary and site conditions, but the shape stays clear: dive, recover, eat, move, and get ready to enter again.

Meals cover both local and Western cooking, with buffet and à la carte service listed on board. Vegetarian and vegan options are available, and snacks are served throughout the day, which matters when four dives divide the hours into short recovery periods. Full-board and half-board formulas are offered; water, tea and coffee are included, while non-alcoholic drinks, beer, wine and cocktails are available on board. Dinner can be served outside, and wine at dinner is included. The table is therefore part of the dive routine: eat, hydrate, rest, then get ready for the next entry rather than losing an entire afternoon to a formal meal.

Nights are spent in either a suite cabin or a twin-berth cabin, with a private bathroom, air conditioning and standard windows; sea-view cabins are available. The boat also has an air-conditioned interior salon for evenings when the outside deck is no longer the comfortable place to sit. Hot water, cabin towels and daily housekeeping remove the small frictions that matter after four dives. Cabins are non-smoking, and a laundry service is available. The space is set up for divers who want a private room to dry off, charge cameras and sleep, then step back into the shared rhythm for the next meal and briefing. It is a functional liveaboard night, not a hotel stay detached from the dive programme.

Regular trips depart from and return to Coron Port, Palawan. The recorded transition trip departs from Danglayan Port in Batangas and returns to Coron Port. Airport and hotel transfers are available as optional services rather than included parts of the boat trip. Arriving in the area the night before is the sensible way to protect the embarkation day from a delayed flight or road transfer.