The sinking of the JUNYO MARU on 18 September 1944 was one of the deadliest maritime disasters of the Second World War
Built as a cargo ship under yard No 324 by Robert Duncan & Co, Port Glasgow for Lang & Fulton Ltd. Greenock, Scotland.
30 October 1913 launched as the ARDGORM.
Tonnage 5,131 grt, 3.287 nrt, dim.123.4 x 16.15 x 8.29m.
Powered by a triple 3-cyl. steam engine, manufactured by J.G. Kincaid & Co, Greenock, 475 nhp, speed 10 knots.
December 1913 completed.
1917 Sold to Norfolk & North America Steamship Company Ltd., renamed in HARTLAND POINT.
1918 Sold to the Johnston Lines Ltd, (Furness Withby & Company managers), Liverpool, renamed HARTMORE.
1921 Sold to Anglo-Oriental Navigation Company Ltd., Liverpool and renamed SUREWAY.
1926 Sold to Sanyo Shoji K.K. in Takasago, Japan and renamed JUNYO MARU
1927 Sold to Kahafuto Kisen K.K. Tokyo, not renamed.
1938 Early that year sold to Nissan Kisen K.K., Tokyo, not renamed, later that year sold to Kotani Shoten, not renamed.
1939 Sold to Baba Shoji K.K., Tokyo not renamed, other sources give renamed in ZYUNYO MARU.
During World War II was she used by the Japanese Government as a transport.
JUNYO MARU was a Japanese cargo ship (one of the "hell ships") that was attacked and sunk in 1944 by the submarine HMS TRADEWIND, resulting in the loss of over 5,000 lives. It is one of the biggest shipping disasters in history.
In September 1943 the Japanese started building the Pekanbaru Railway from Pekanbaru to Muaro in Sumatra. She built first a railway embankment. The railway was built by prisoners of war and Coolies (Romushas) from May 1944.
In Batavia on Java in the barracks of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, prisoners of war of different and varied army units were held. Also, other prisoners from the archipelago were transported to some other barracks.
In the night from 15/16 September 1944, a group of about 1600 men from these barracks was prepared for transport.
On 15 September this group of men was transported by train from Pasar Senen Station to the port Tanjung Priok where the JUNYO MARU was waiting for the embarking of the prisoners, at that time she was a rusty old ship in a very poor condition. Overdue maintenance was visible and there was rust everywhere.
In order to transport prisoners, the ship was fitted out with extra decks constructed of bamboo subdivided into cages of the same material. Deck space was also used for the prisoners.
The 4200 Romushas were already on board stowed in the holds. The new arrivals were driven also into the ship.
16 September the JUNYO MARU left port heading a north-western course, she was escorted by two Japanese corvettes.
At that time the JUNYO MARU had about 100 crew and guards on board.
Conditions on board were far from ideal. The heat was unbearable when the JUNO MARU neared the southwest coast of Sumatra, the weather turned bad and it was raining, while the temperature dropped. The next day it was hot again, some prisoners had died and were thrown without a ceremony overboard.
18 September in the afternoon a major explosion rocked the ship, ship parts flew in all directions, the ship came dead in the water. Shortly thereafter a second explosion was heard. A lorry in the hold broke from his lashings and crushed several prisoners. She was hit by torpedoes fired from HMS TRADEWIND.
At the time of the explosion there were on board 1,377 Dutch, 64 British and Australian, and 8 U.S prisoners of war along with 4,200 Javanese slave labourers (rōmusha) bound for work on the railway line in Sumatra.
About 20 minutes later after the first explosion, the JUNYO MARU sank in a position off Bengkulu at the southwest coast of Sumatra. (02 -53S – 101 – 11E)
Only about 675 persons survived the disaster, only to be put to work in conditions similar to those of the Burma Railway where death was commonplace.
https://www.pekanbarudeathrailway.com/junyo-maru this site has much more on the sinking.
Source various internet sites and Wikipedia.
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