More than 80 years ago, in 1942, during World War II, a Japanese transport ship with more than 1,000 people on board was sunk by an American submarine. Most of the victims came from Australia. Now the wreck lies off the coast of the Philippines.
Deep-sea researchers have now located the wreck of the Montevideo Maru, which sank nearly a thousand Australian POWs. The remains of the ship were discovered at a depth of more than 4,000 meters in the South China Sea, the Silentworld Foundation, which organized the search, said Saturday.
The Montevideo Maru was torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine on July 1, 1942. However, the submarine’s crew was unaware at the time that the Japanese ship was carrying Australian prisoners of war.
Australia’s worst shipping disaster
The sinking of the Montevideo Maru is still regarded as Australia’s worst maritime disaster. An estimated 980 Australians lost their lives, including at least 850 soldiers. According to Silentworld, civilians from 13 other countries were also on board, bringing the total death toll to around 1,060.
“The resting place of the lost souls of the Montevideo Maru has finally been found,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote on Twitter. This message will hopefully provide “some measure of comfort” to the bereaved.
Wreck searched with high-tech equipment
The researchers went looking for the wreck two weeks ago in the South China Sea, northwest of the main island of Luzon in the Philippines. The wreck was located with high-tech equipment, including an autonomous underwater vehicle with sonar.
“The discovery of the Montevideo Maru closes a terrifying chapter in Australian military and naval history,” said Silentworld director John Mullen. The foundation had collaborated with the Dutch deep-sea research agency Fugro and the Australian military in the search for the wreck.
Source: Krone
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