King Cruiser Wreck Phuket: Depth, Certification & How to Dive It

Featured image: Ralf Schmidt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Quick answer: what the King Cruiser wreck is

King Cruiser is Phuket's best-known wreck dive. Operators run it as a deep, current-affected dive that suits divers with Advanced Open Water or an equivalent. Most trips treat it as the first dive of a three-dive day so divers get the best gas and no-decompression time. Structure is decaying, so you swim around the hull rather than through it.

• Vessel: steel car and passenger ferry, about 85 m long and 25 m wide
• Depth: roughly 16–18 m at the top to 30–33 m on the sand
• Certification: Advanced Open Water or equivalent
• Main caveats: medium to strong current, variable visibility, collapsed decks, boat traffic

How the King Cruiser sank

King Cruiser began as a car and passenger ferry built in Japan in the early 1990s. A Thai company ran it between Phuket and the Phi Phi islands. On 4 May 1997 it struck the reef where it grounded, and the rock tore into the hull. Passengers and crew reportedly left safely, and one operator says the ship went down about 4 hours later. Passenger estimates run past 500, though figures differ by account. Rumours about the cause circulate among divers, from insurance trouble to paid captains. None is proven. One operator account says a court found the captain negligent. For you, the useful fact is simpler: a ferry that stayed afloat for hours now sits on the seabed as an artificial reef.

King Cruiser wreck dive facts: depth, visibility and current

Published figures disagree, so treat every number below as a range and listen to your briefing. Reports put the top of the wreck at 16 m or 18 m. The sand bottom is reported at 30–33 m, and one operator notes it shifts with the tide. Average depth along the outer hull is reported at 22–26 m. Visibility claims range from 5 m to 30 m. A 2016 visitor described cloudy water and too many boats at once. Operators describe the current as medium to strong. Penetration is not recommended because decks and ceilings have collapsed. One operator reported losing a large part of the bow in September 2016.

Who can dive it, and who should skip it

Match your training to the depth before you book. Every source requires Advanced Open Water or equivalent. One operator calls it suitable for experienced Open Water divers, but depth and current favour the Advanced rating. Non-divers should skip it. Nothing on the site suits snorkelers, because the wreck sits well below the surface.

What you'll see on the wreck

Expect heavy fish life and no guaranteed sightings. Schools of fusiliers, snappers and juvenile barracuda gather over the shallow section. Divers also report adult yellowtail barracuda near the surface line. Lower down, reports list bamboo sharks, lionfish, scorpionfish and the occasional leopard shark on the sand. Honeycomb morays and hawksbill turtles are reported around the stern and top deck. Batfish and nudibranchs round out the list. Whale sharks are rare and anecdotal here, so do not book for them.

How to dive the King Cruiser safely

Start by following your guide's plan. The wreck begins at 16–18 m, so the first minutes are easy to spend too fast. Fish traffic distracts divers, and the depth makes it simple to overrun no-decompression limits. Descend on the mooring line, since boats drop you near it and move away. Return to the line for the ascent and safety stop. Send up an SMB because of boat traffic. Nitrox 32 can extend your limits, if you hold the certification. A Wreck Diver specialty course is the formal route to penetration training, but collapsed decks make this wreck a poor place to practice. Watch your gas closely, and keep your hands off the hull. Sharp edges and well-camouflaged scorpionfish sit at common hand-hold points.

• Mistake: swimming into collapsed sections. Follow the outer hull instead.
• Mistake: grabbing hull surfaces. Keep neutral buoyancy.
• Mistake: skipping the SMB. Boat traffic is real.
• Mistake: ignoring gas and depth. Dive your plan.
• Mistake: assuming the trip runs daily. Schedules and weather change.

How to book: day trip, course, private guide or liveaboard

Four routes reach the wreck, and each trades time on site against flexibility. A three-dive day trip from Phuket is the standard option. Large groups can shorten the dive, per one operator. A private guide can buy more time. One operator says its 2-day Advanced course covers 5 adventure dives and includes this wreck. Liveaboards that include it offer fewer crowds, if the itinerary matches your dates. Ask each operator about group size, certification checks and nitrox. Also ask for the pickup point and transit time, since sources give no figure for the boat ride. Season matters too. One operator says dives run during the November–May north-east monsoon, though strong winds can cancel trips. Another says the site is diveable all year.

Pair it with other Phuket dive sites

Day trips often combine the wreck with sites nearby. The reef where it sank is a short hop away, so a three-dive day there suits divers who want one deep dive and two gentler ones. Experienced divers can add Shark Point day trips for pinnacle diving. Divers who want a longer trip may like Racha Islands diving trips. Another option is Racha Noi's dive sites for open-water scenery. Wreck fans can ask operators about a nearby Koh Doc Mai dive option. Ask which combinations your operator actually runs, since schedules differ by day.