Wreck of WWII Japanese freighter carrying Allied prisoners located off Philippines

Divers have located the wreck of the Hofuku Maru off the western coast of Luzon in the Philippines. The Japanese freighter sank on 21 September 1944 while carrying 1,289 British and Dutch prisoners of war. The ship was the second vessel in a Japanese convoy when aircraft from a U.S. Navy task force attacked.

A torpedo struck the hull, and the vessel broke in two and sank in less than three minutes. Up to 1,000 prisoners remained trapped in the holds; those who reached shore were recaptured by Japanese forces.

Conditions on board Prisoners had been weakened by forced labour on the Burma–Thailand railway. The vessel offered no light, inadequate ventilation, no sanitary facilities and minimal food and water. It carried no markings indicating it transported prisoners.

Discovery process Post-war records gave only approximate coordinates, and survivor accounts differed on key details. In 2025 a researcher found a digitised Japanese document that recorded the convoy formation and attack location. Cross-referencing with a U.S. Navy action report shifted the search area more than 50 kilometres south.

A team using sonar equipment located the wreck at roughly 50 metres depth. Five technical dives produced hundreds of photographs and a three-dimensional model. The hull size, mast positions and hold layout matched the original shipyard plans. Volcanic ash from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption covered parts of the site.

Human remains were found among the debris, confirming the location as a war grave under international conventions. The Netherlands has stated it will work with other countries to honour the victims, and the Hellships Memorial Foundation will contact relatives of those who died.