(VOA) SYDNEY — The mystery of one of the world’s worst international maritime disasters has been solved off the coast of the Philippines. The wreck of the Montevideo Maru – a Japanese transport ship sunk 80 years ago by an American submarine during World War II – has finally been found.
The Montevideo Maru was carrying 850 prisoners of war and about 200 civilians who had been captured by the Japanese in Papua New Guinea in 1942. Unaware of who was onboard, the ship was torpedoed by the USS Sturgeon, an American submarine.
Its sinking was initially heralded as a success by Allied forces before the identity of most of those onboard was finally revealed.
The vessel’s location has until now been an enduring mystery.
The wreck was found earlier this week in the South China Sea off the Philippines. The mission was a combined effort of the Australian Defense Department, marine archaeologists from Australia’s Silentworld Foundation, and experts from the Dutch deep-sea survey company Fugro… Read More
