Chuuk Island cruise port guide

Chuuk Lagoon, formerly known as Truk Lagoon, is the main island of Chuuk State –with more than 36,000 residents the largest of the four states making up the Federated States of Micronesia. Located at the center of the Caroline Islands, the reef protecting the lagoon has a length of more than 220 kilometers with 41 islets on it, while 57 islands and islets are found within the lagoon. The capital Weno is on Weno, one of the two larger of several other volcanic islands in the lagoon, hence the local name of Chuuk (mountain). Since none of the islands actually carries the name Chuuk, the lagoon and islands are commonly known as Chuuk Islands. Some 1600 years before the Spaniards first saw and then claimed Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesian had already established themselves on two of the islands. The Caroline Islands were sold to Germany in 1899 as a result of the Spanish-American War and later turned over to Japan as a mandated territory after WWI. The natural harbor created by the reef had been used by the Japanese navy during WWII as its largest forward naval base with submarine repair shops and a communication center. In addition to airstrips and seaplane bases, infrastructure for the more than 44,000 Japanese troops stationed there had been set up. To divers Chuuk Lagoon is one of the highlights in the Pacific because it contains a ghost fleet: during “Operation Hailstorm” 44 Japanese ships were sunk by American carrier-based planes.