2023-04-22 15:32:24
Deep-sea explorers declared on Saturday that they had located the remains of the “Montevideo Maru”a transport ship World War II Japanese aircraft that was torpedoed off the coast of the Philippines, killing nearly 1,000 Australians.
The ship -sunk the July 1, 1942 by a US submarine unaware that it was transporting prisoners of war – was found at a depth of more than four kilometers, reported the maritime archeology group Silentworld Foundationwhich organized the mission with the Dutch offshore prospecting company Fugro.
The sinking of the “Montevideo Maru” was the worst maritime disaster in Australian history, killing some 979 Australian citizens, including at least 850 soldiers.
They also traveled on board civilians from 13 other countriesaccording to the foundation, which brings the total death toll to about 1,060.
They had been captured a few months earlier by Japanese forces in the fall of the coastal municipality of Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea.
“At last the place where the lost souls of the ‘Montevideo Maru’ rest has been found,” declared the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
“Among the 1,060 prisoners on board were 850 Australian service members – their lives were cut short,” Albanese wrote on social media.
“We hope that today’s news brings some comfort to loved ones who have kept a long vigil”.
After five years of planning, explorers began searching for the wreck on April 6 in the South China Sea, northwest of the Philippine main island of luzon.
They achieved a positive sighting just 12 days later using high-tech equipment, including a sonar-equipped autonomous underwater vehicle.
“When we saw those images it was the moment of our lives, very exciting,” the captain told AFP by phone. Roger Turnertechnical director of the expedition, from aboard the prospecting vessel Fugro Equator.
two torpedoes
The ship had split into two sections, with the bow and stern separated by about 500 meters on the seabed, he said.
“We believe it was hit by two torpedoes. The first was the one that caused it to sink, the second actually blew up part of the accommodation.”
The remains will remain intact at the bottom of the sea, deeper than the Titanic, out of respect for the families of the deceased, according to the Foundation. No objects or human remains will be removed.
“We are well aware that this is a grave, a war grave for some 1,100 people, both military and allied civilians as crew members and Japanese guards,” Turner said.
“It is being treated with all due respect.”
Andrea Williamsan Australian whose grandfather and great-uncle were civilian internees who perished on the ship, was also with the team that found her.
“It was very emotional, but it is also a very proud moment to have been able to find the wreck,” he told AFP.
“Family members have often said, ‘Will the Montevideo Maru ever be found?'” Williams acknowledged.
The location of the ship was “hugely comforting” for relatives of prisoners deceased, many of whom contacted her after the news broke, she said.
the lieutenant general Simon StuartChief of the Australian Army, stated that the discovery of the wreck had put an end to 81 years of uncertainty for the loved ones of the disappeared.
“A loss like this spans decades and reminds us all of the human cost of conflict,” he declared. The Australian Army had assisted in the search.
Among the people who perished aboard the “Montevideo Maru” were 33 crew members of the Norwegian freighter Herstein and about twenty Japanese guards and crew members, according to the Silentworld Foundation.
Other countries affected by the shipwreck included the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Sweden, and the United States.
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