Montevideo Maru

Montevideo Maru c.1941
Montevideo Maru, c. 1941
History
Japan
NameMontevideo Maru
NamesakeMontevideo
Owner Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK)
Port of registryOsaka
BuilderMitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha, Nagasaki
Yard number412
Laid down9 September 1925
Launched15 April 1926
Completed14 August 1926
Out of service1 July 1942
FateSunk by USS Sturgeon, 1 July 1942
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeSantos Maru
TypeRefrigerated passenger/cargo ship
Tonnage7,267 GRT
Length130 m (430 ft)
Beam17 m (56 ft)
Draught7.6 m (25 ft) loaded
Propulsion
  • 2 × 1,700 kW (2,300 hp) Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 diesel engines
  • 2 screw propellers
Speed14.5 knots (26.9 km/h)

Montevideo Maru (Japanese: もんてびでお丸) was a merchant ship of the Empire of Japan. Launched in 1926, it was pressed into service as a military transport during World War II. It was sunk by the American submarine USS Sturgeon on 1 July 1942, drowning 1,054 people, mostly Australian prisoners of war and civilians who were being transported from Rabaul, the former Australian territory of New Guinea, to Hainan.[2] The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. The wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered on 18 April 2023.

  1. ^ "Montevideo Maru 1926–1942 OSK Lines". Derby Sulzers. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. ^ Australia, National Archives of. "Homepage". montevideomaru.naa.gov.au. Retrieved 27 April 2023.