The Tateyama maru was built in 1937 by Mitsui Busan Kaisha for Baba shoji Kabushiki (Baba Commerce C., Ltd). Originally designed to carry both passengers and cargo, she was converted to a water carrier during the war. large tanks were installed in the cargo holds to carry potable (fresh) water to bases such as Kwajalein where fresh water was not available in abundance. The tanks were located in the center of the holds and still left space for cargo to be loaded on the mezzanine levels surrounding them. The tanks can be seen today when swimming past the holds at 110 feet. they have been partially crushed by the water pressure at that depth, indicating that they were only partially full at the time of sinking. The mezzanine level of the forward hold was loaded with crates of bottled beverages, such as wine, sake, beer and mineral water. The aft hold contains several tons of artillery shells, many of which fell out of the hold and lie piled on the bottom.

The ship was positively identified by the recovery of a bell in 1984, a large bronze gauge panel in 1986, and other miscellaneous smaller items from the bridge area as late as 1988. The ship was operated for Baba Shoji by NYK Lines much as the Asakaze Maru was operated by Yamshita Lines for Todi Kisen K.K. NYK China and uniform buttons have been found on board.

At the bow, the anchor chains can be seen extending from the hause pipes, and disappearing into the gloom of the depths. The forward gun mount, on top of the focsle, is bare of it's weapon, although boxes of ammunition are still present. The gun may lie somewhere near the wreck but has not been found to this date. The focsle is divided into several rooms which once contained ships stores, the bosun's locker, and crews quarters. The mezzanine level of the forward hold contains the bottles mentioned earlier. The central "island" of the ship is intact and easily accessible due to the teredos worm elimination of the wooden decking. The funnel is also intact, and is an interesting sight. The after cabin areas are partially filled with coal and coke that has fallen from the fuel bunkers. this area exhibits some minor blast damage, but no signs of intense fires. The ship rests on it's starboard side, partially covering the huge hole resulting from the fatal blow dealt by the American aircraft. The hole leads into the engine room and coal hold, and is nearly forty feet across. This extensive damage in a critical area, lack of fires, and the fact that the life boat davits are not extended leads me to believe that the ship sunk very rapidly. Further aft a bomb strike is evident just forward of the fantail and appears to have completely penetrated the ship without exploding. The rooms of the fantail contained office spaces, ship's stores, and crews quarters. Personal effects can be found in these rooms. Another gun mount, also bare of it's weapon, is located on top of the fantail cabins.