Torpedoing the Nissa Maru
Early in February 1942, the inhabitants of Christmas Island made preparations for impending invasion by Japanese forces. Deep sea mooring buoys were towed out to sea and sunk, thus making almost impossible the task of mooring a vessel within any of the few anchorages inside the coral reef which encircles the island.
March 31, 1942 the Japanese invasion fleet appeared on the horizon. he fleet consisted of two aircraft carriers, two or three heavy warships, and five or six merchant ships, sailed into the Cove in perfect weather and the landing was effected without any opposition whatever.
About 100 Japanese civilians who had landed with the soldiers were technical staff brought to get the phosphate plant operating and ship the phosphate to Japan
After the first two or three weeks of occupation, the Japanese had managed to ship about 1,000 tons of phosphate. As the loading plant had not been repaired and as no ship of any size could be moored at the jetties, the rock phosphate had been ‘bagged’ and man handled by the Chinese laborers into the hold of the Nissa Maru, a 700 ton ship which sailed between Christmas Island and Surabaya with supplies. The ship was moored alongside on of the jetties and loaded by crane.
The Nissa Maru was torpedoed whilst unloading supplies alongside the jetty. Two torpedoes made direct hits and the ship sand almost immediately. One Malay and four Japanese were killed.
After the loss of the Nissa Maru no more attempts were made to ship phosphate to Japan.
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