''Atago Maru'' was a

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

built prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1924 by Lithgows & Sons for

Nippon Yusen The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, Tanker (ship), tankers, bulk and woodchip carrie ...

. One of the first diesel-engined

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

s in service in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, ''Atago Maru'' was converted to an

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

in 1942. Returning to service in 1943, the ship saw extensive service traveling in

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s during World War II. On 28 November 1944, the vessel was bombed by a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

while at anchor off

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. The shipwreck is a popular diving site in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Description

As built, ''Atago Maru'' was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

measured at ,

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of . The ship was powered by twin Sulzer

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s and two

screws A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

rated at . The vessel had a maximum speed of . In 1942, the vessel was converted to transport oil.

Career

''Atago Maru'' was built as a general cargo freighter for

by Lithgows & Sons at

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

with the

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

762. The vessel was launched on 17 June 1924 and completed on 28 November later that year. ''Atago Maru'' was one of the first diesel-engined ships under Japanese registry. The cargo ship operated between

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

and the west coast of the United States and Canada, where ''Atago Maru'' found great success on the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

route. With the outbreak of war between Japan and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in 1941, the cargo ship's cross-Pacific career ended. On 3 August 1942, ''Atago Maru'' joined Convoy 425 sailing from Cap St Jacques, Vietnam bound for Mako, Pescadores. On 28 December, ''Atago Maru'' began conversion to an emergency

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

, Japan. The ship completed conversion and returned to service on 14 February 1943. On 15 June, ''Atago Maru'' joined Convoy 586 from Cap St Jacques and arrived at

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on 18 June. The ship returned to Cap St Jacques and joined Convoy 412, departing on 23 July. On 15 August, ''Atago Maru'' sailed from

Moji Moji may refer to: * '' Onji'' or ''hyōon moji'' (表音文字), phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry * Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, ward (district) of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan ** Moji Station in that wa ...

, Japan for Takao,

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

as part of Convoy 187 and arrived on 20 August. In December, the oil tanker headed to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, sailing from Zamboanga for

Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...

and Tawi Tawi on 30 December. In 1944, ''Atago Maru'' returned to Japan. The oil tanker departed Moji in Convoy MOTA-07 on 1 March, arriving at Takao on 9 March. On 21 March, the ship sailed from Takao as part of Convoy TAMA-12 and arrived at

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines on 24 March. On 18 June, ''Atago Maru'' joined Convoy MI-05 departing from Manila and arrived at

Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...

on 23 June. Four days later the oil tanker joined Convoy MI-06 sailing for Moji, arriving on 17 July after stops at Manila and Takao. On 26 July, sailing with Convoy MI-13, ''Atago Maru'' departs Moji. After stopping at Takao, the convoy came under attack on 7 August by a US submarine, which sink one of the cargo ships, before arriving at Manila on 8 August. On 11 August, the convoy departs Manila for Miri, and is attacked the following day by US submarines, which sink two of the convoy. The convoy arrived at Miri on 18 August. On 29 August, ''Atago Maru'' joined Convoy MI-14 departing Miri, making stops at Manila and Takao, and reaching Moji on 20 September. On 3 November, the oil tanker departed Moji for Miri as part of Convoy MI-25. On 15 November, the convoy is attacked by US submarines, with three merchant vessels lost. The convoy arrived at Miri on 16 November. On 28 November 1944, while at anchor just offshore of the

Lutong Lutong is a suburban township in Miri, a city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. An oil refinery was built in Lutong by Shell Oil Company. Lutong's economy is generated mainly from staff of the oil and gas companies located nearby. History ...

refinery, ''Atago Maru'' was bombed and sunk by

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

s of the

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, ...

at .

Wreck

''Atago Maru'' rests upright in of water, about offshore. Initially much of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

and masts remained above water, but

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

waves destroyed the superstructure and what remained went underwater as the ship settled in the mud. The ship's masts were still visible above the waterline until the 1980s. The wreck is a popular dive site.

Citations

Sources

* * * * {{cite book , last=Svrcula , first=Kurt , year=2013 , orig-year=2004 , title=Diving in Malaysia: A Guide to the Best Dives of Sabah, Sarawak & Peninsular Malaysia , edition=Updated , location=Singapore , publisher=Marshall Cavendish International , isbn=978-981-4398-32-9

External links

"The Wrecks of NW Borneo – Atago Maru"
Panaga Divers.
''Atago Maru'' at ''wrecksite.eu''
Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean World War II merchant ships of Japan Ships built in Glasgow 1924 ships Maritime incidents in November 1944