A group of explorers introduced it discovered a sunken Japanese ship that was transporting Allied prisoners of conflict when it was torpedoed off the coast of the Philippines in 1942, leading to Australia’s largest maritime wartime loss with a complete of 1,080 lives.

The wreck of the Montevideo Maru was situated after a 12-day search at a depth of over 4000 meter (13,120 ft) — deeper than the Titanic — off Luzon island within the South China Sea, utilizing an autonomous underwater automobile with in-built sonar.

There can be no efforts to take away artifacts or human stays out of respect for the households of those that died, mentioned an announcement Saturday from the Sydney-based Silentworld Foundation, a not-for-profit devoted to maritime archaeology and historical past. It took half within the mission along with Dutch deep-sea survey specialists Fugro and Australia’s Defense Department.

“The extraordinary effort behind this discovery speaks for the enduring truth of Australia’s solemn national promise to always remember and honour those who served our country,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned. “This is the heart and the spirit of Lest We Forget.”

The Montevideo Maru was transporting prisoners and civilians who had been captured after the autumn of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. The ship was not marked as carrying POWs, and on July 1, 1942, the American submarine Sturgeon, after stalking the ship via the evening, fired 4 torpedoes, which discovered their goal, sinking the vessel in lower than 10 minutes.

Those killed included 1,080 folks from 14 nations, together with 979 Australians.

“Families waited years for news of their missing loved ones, before learning of the tragic outcome of the sinking,” mentioned Silentworld director John Mullen. “Some never fully came to accept that their loved ones were among the victims. Today, by finding the vessel, we hope to bring closure to the many families devastated by this terrible disaster.”

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