Montevideo Maru

Montevideo Maru, c. 1941
History
Japan
Name	Montevideo Maru
Namesake	Montevideo
Owner	Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK)
Port of registry	Osaka
Builder	Mitsubishi Zosen Kakoki Kaisha, Nagasaki
Yard number	412
Laid down	9 September 1925
Launched	15 April 1926
Completed	14 August 1926
Out of service	1 July 1942
Fate	Sunk by USS Sturgeon, 1 July 1942
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Santos Maru
Type	Refrigerated passenger/cargo ship
Tonnage	7,267 GRT
Length	130 m (430 ft)
Beam	17 m (56 ft)
Draught	7.6 m (25 ft) loaded
Propulsion	2 × 1,700 kW (2,300 hp) Mitsubishi-Sulzer 6ST60 diesel engines 2 screw propellers
Speed	14.5 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.