Deep-sea explorers have found the wreckage of a Japanese ship off the coast of the Philippines that killed nearly a thousand Australian POWs during World War II. The remains of the “Montevideo Maru” were found at a depth of more than four kilometers in the South China Sea, the Silentworld Foundation, which organized the search, said today.
The Montevideo Maru was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine on July 1, 1942. The submarine crew did not know that the Japanese ship was transporting Australian prisoners of war.
Worst shipping disaster in Australia
The sinking of the “Montevideo Maru” is still considered Australia’s worst shipping disaster. An estimated 979 Australians lost their lives, including at least 850 soldiers. According to Silentworld, civilians from 13 other countries were also on board, so the total number of dead is around 1,060.
“Finally the resting place of the lost souls of the ‘Montevideo Maru’ has been found,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Hopefully, this news will “give some measure of comfort” to the bereaved.
Search with high-tech equipment=0
The researchers began 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 worked with the Dutch deep-sea survey company Fugro and the Australian military in the search for the wreck.
