Montevideo Maru

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. The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. The wreck of Montevideo Maru was discovered on 18 April 2023.

Montevideo Maru was one of three ships (along with Santos Maru and La Plata Maru) of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK) shipping line built for their trans-Pacific service to South America. The 7,267-gross register ton (GRT) ship was constructed at the Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha shipyard at Nagasaki, and launched in 1926. At 130 metres (430 feet) in length, and 17 m (56 ft) in the beam, it was powered by two Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 six-cylinder diesel engines delivering a total of 3,400 kilowatts (4,600 hp) and giving it a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h). Before the war, the ship operated as a passenger and cargo vessel, travelling mainly between Japan and Brazil carrying Japanese emigrants.

Montevideo Maru participated in the invasion of Makassar, Celebes, from 6 to 16 February, 1942. It completed several transport missions before being sunk.

On 22 June 1942, approximately four months after the fall of Rabaul to the Japanese during January/February 1942, 1,054 prisoners (mostly Australians, 35 Norwegian and British sailors from MV Herstein and possibly some New Zealanders) were embarked from Rabaul's port onto Montevideo Maru. The ship was proceeding without escort to the Chinese island of Hainan, when it was sighted by the American submarine USS Sturgeon near the northern Philippine coast on 30 June 1942.

Sturgeon pursued but could not fire, as the target was travelling at 17 knots (31 km/h). Montevideo Maru slowed to about 12 knots (22 km/h) at midnight, to facilitate an expected rendezvous with an escort of two destroyers. Unaware that the ship was carrying Allied prisoners of war and civilians, Sturgeon fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru before dawn on 1 July 1942. At least one torpedo hit, causing the vessel to take on water and sink 11 minutes later. Australians in the water sang "Auld Lang Syne" to their trapped comrades as the ship sank beneath the waves.

There were more POWs in the water than crew members. The POWs were holding pieces of wood and using bigger pieces as rafts. They were in groups of 20 to 30 people, probably 100 people in all. They were singing songs. I was particularly impressed when they began singing Auld Lang Syne as a tribute to their dead colleagues. Watching that, I learnt that Australians have big hearts.

— Eyewitness Yoshiaki Yamaji, interviewed October 2003

The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. A nominal list made available by the Japanese government in 2012 revealed that a total of 1,054 prisoners (178 non-commissioned officers, 667 soldiers and 209 civilians) died on Montevideo Maru. Among the dead were 35 sailors from the Norwegian merchant ship Herstein. Based on a report made to OSK, of Montevideo Maru's complement of 88, some 17 crew and 3 guards are believed to have survived, though a total of 17 has also been claimed.