The Montevideo Maru, which sank in 1942 after being attacked by a US submarine, has been found in the depths of the South China Sea, ending the search for the wreckage of the worst maritime disaster in Australia’s history.
More than 1,060 people lost their lives, including 979 Australians, when the submersible torpedoed the Japanese-flagged ship carrying Japanese soldiers, prisoners of war and civilians from 14 countries without knowing the load.
The discovery of the remains of the Japanese ship torpedoed during World War II, after eight decades of mystery, came after 12 days of searching, including with a sonar-equipped underwater drone.
The Silentworld philanthropic foundation, an underwater archeology society, said Saturday in a statement that a team, supported by the deep-sea specialist company Fugro and the Australian Ministry of Defense, searched the seabed for more than two weeks until they found the sunken ship.
The Montevideo Maru, a mixed freighter, was sunk on July 1, 1942 by the American submarine USS Sturgeon, whose crew was unaware that it was carrying Allied prisoners of war, mostly Australians, to the Japanese-occupied island of Hainan in China.
“The discovery closes a terrible chapter in Australia’s military and maritime history (…) Today, by finding the vessel, we hope to bring closure to the many families devastated by this terrible disaster,” said John Mullen, director from Silentworld.
The remains of the ship were found at a depth of more than 4,000 meters -higher than the remains of the Titanic- off the coast of the Philippines, after the search began on April 6, 110 kilometers northwest of the island. Philippine from Luzon.
Supported with autonomous underwater vehicles, the first sighting occurred on April 12, but it still took several days to verify the wreck through expert analysis.
“We hope that today’s news brings some comfort to loved ones who have kept a long vigil,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked on social media, highlighting the “extraordinary effort behind” the discovery and “the Australia’s solemn promise to always remember and honor those who served our country”.
For his part, Australian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, remarked in another statement that “these Australians were never forgotten. Lost in the depths of the seas, their final resting place is now known.”
Silentworld emphasizes that the remains of the ship will not be recovered and no human remains or personal belongings will be removed “out of respect for all the families of those on board who lost their lives.”
“We believe it was hit by two torpedoes. The first sank it, the second blew up part of the accommodation,” Captain Roger Turner, the expedition’s technical director, said by phone.
The ship broke in two, with the bow and stern separated about 500 meters on the seabed, he explained.
This accident alone lost twice as many Australian soldiers and civilian lives as in the entire Vietnam War, and surpasses the 1941 sinking of HMAS Sydney, with 645 fatalities, and the 1943 hospital ship Centaur, with 268 fatalities.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project