The boat was discovered at a depth of more than 4,000 meters in the South China Sea thanks to an underwater drone. He had been missing for over 80 years.
After eight decades of mystery, the discovery: the wreckage of a Japanese ship torpedoed during World War II with more than 1,000 people on board, the majority of them Australian prisoners, has been found off the coast of the Philippines.
The Montevideo Maru was located on April 18 at a depth of more than 4,000 meters in the South China Sea, 110 km off the Philippine island of Luzon, the Silentworld Foundation, an underwater archeology society, announced on Saturday. . The discovery came after 12 days of research using, in particular, an underwater drone equipped with sonar.
This sinking remains one of the greatest maritime tragedies in Australian history.
A mission planned for 5 years
The Montevideo Maru, a mixed freighter, had been sunk on July 1, 1942 by the American submarine USS Sturgeon, whose crew did not know that it was conveying prisoners to the Chinese island of Hainan, occupied by the Japanese army. Allied warfare.
According to the Silentworld Foundation, approximately 1,060 people of 14 nationalities died, including 979 Australians captured during the battle of Rabaul, New Guinea, including at least 850 servicemen.
It took more than five years to plan the mission to find the ship, according to the Silentworld Foundation. The search began on April 6.
“The resting place of the lost souls of the Montevideo Maru has finally been found,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement posted on social media.
“We hope today’s news brings some comfort to loved ones who have waited so long,” he added.
A discovery that “closes a terrible chapter in military history”
The Silentworld Foundation said the wreckage of the Montevideo Maru, which lies at a greater depth than that of the Titanic, will not be disturbed. No object or human remains will be removed, out of respect for the families of the victims.
“The discovery of the Montevideo Maru closes a terrible chapter in Australia’s military and maritime history,” said John Mullen, director of Silentworld, who conducted the research with Dutch firm Fugro, which specializes in deep-sea surveys. , and with the Australian Army.
“Families waited for years to hear from their missing loved ones before learning of the tragic outcome of the sinking,” he said. “Some have never fully accepted that their loved ones are among the victims.”
Norwegians, English and Danes among the victims
Finding the wreckage put an end to 81 years of uncertainty for the relatives of the victims, for his part hailed the head of the Australian army, General Simon Stuart.
“Such a loss spans decades and reminds us of the human cost of conflict,” he said.
Among the other people who died on board the Montevideo Maru were 33 sailors from the Norwegian freighter Herstein, around 20 Japanese guards and crew, and nationals of several other countries are among the victims of the sinking: the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Sweden and the United States.
