The King Cruiser Is A 85 Metre Long Sunken Car Ferry
Originally a Japanese car ferry the King Cruiser was converted to transport passagers between Phi Phi and Phuket. She sank with 100+ passangers onboard in 1997 after striking Anemone Reef whilst enroute to Phuket. All passangers survived the disaster.
Average depth of the top of the wreck is around 20 metres with the bottom of the wreck at 32 metres. This 85 metre long and 35 metre wide wreck sits in an upright position and is in very poor condition these days and and is considered unsafe to penetrate. At times the currents can be strong and visibility can be poor which makes it a dive site only for the experienced.
On the up side at times the visibility can be hampered the sheer numbers of fish on the wreck and it has amazed scuba divers with the sheer numbers.
Recently the wreck has had positive reports due to the large number of fish that have collected there. Vast schools of snappers, barracuda, fusiliers, rabbitfish and goatfish have become a bigger attraction than the wreck itself and when the visibility is good makes for a stunning dive.
Caution should be taken when diving this site, currents can be strong and diving difficulty. There are many protruding objects and metal objects to crash into. The site is also littered with Black Diadema Sea Urchins are as every diver knows they should be avoided as well. Given its depth NDL’s are often pushed so keep an eye on your dive computer when diving here.
Depth: 16-33m Difficulty: ✩✩✩✩ Marine life: ✩✩ Coral: ✩ Currents: ✩✩✩✩
Dive boats go to King Cruiser every day of the week as a part of a 3-dive combo with Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai. Shark Point can be substituted with Anemone Reef depending on the currents and weather conditions.