View source for Arisan Maru

{{Short description|Japanese type 2A freighter}}
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|Ship image=File:ArisanMaru launch.jpg
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|Ship caption=Launch of the ''Arisan Maru''
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|Ship name=''Arisan Maru''
|Ship owner= Mitsui Senpaku
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|Ship registry= {{flagicon|Empire of Japan}}
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|Ship builder= Mitsui, Tamanao, Japan
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|Ship yard number=376
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|Ship completed=June 22, 1944
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|Ship fate=Sunk by {{USS|Shark|SS-314|6}}, 24 October 1944
|Ship notes= [[Hell ship]]
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|Ship class=Type 2A [[Freighter (ship)|freighter]]
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|Ship tonnage= * {{GRT|6886}}
* {{DWT|11200}}
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|Ship length= * {{convert|137.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|oa]]
* {{convert|129.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]]
|Ship beam= {{convert|18.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
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'''''Arisan Maru''''' was a {{GRT|6886|adj=on}} Type 2A [[Freighter (ship)|freighter]] constructed in 1944 during [[World War II]] and was one of [[Imperial Japan]]'s [[hell ship]]s. The vessel, named for a mountain on [[Taiwan]], was initially used as a [[Troopship|troop transport]]. The vessel was then turned over for use for the transportation of [[prisoners of war]] (POWs) from the [[Philippines]] to [[Manchuria]], China or Japan. On October 24, 1944, the ship was [[torpedo]]ed by an American submarine and sank. Of the 1,781 POWs aboard, all of them escaped the sinking ship but were not rescued by the Japanese. In the end, only nine of the prisoners survived the sinking.

==Description==
''Arisan Maru'' was a Type 2A [[Freighter (ship)|freighter]] that measured {{GRT|6886|disp=long}}, was {{convert|137.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|129.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]] with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|18.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The vessel was powered by [[steam turbine]]s turning one [[propeller]].{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}} The vessel had three [[Hold (ship)|holds]], with No.2 hold being {{convert|50|x|75|ft|m|order=flip|0}}. The vessel was designed for the transportation of raw materials such as [[coal]] and [[nickel]].{{sfn|Glusman|2005|p=354}}

==Service history==
''Arisan Maru'' was constructed by Mitsui at their yard in [[Tamano]], Japan with the [[yard number]] 376. The freighter was completed on 22 June 1944 and owned by Mitsui Senpaku.{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}} The vessel was named for a mountain in [[Formosa]] and was first assigned to transport 6,000 troops of the [[Kwantung Army]] from [[Pusan]], Korea to Okinawa. The vessel was then ordered to transport POWs from the [[Philippines]] to [[Manchuria]], China, or Japan. Three tiers of bunks were installed that were separated by {{convert|3|ft|m|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Glusman|2005|p=355}} On October 11, 1944, ''Arisan Maru'' embarked 1,782 [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] POWs at [[Manila]], a mix of military personnel and civilian detainees. Detained Allied personnel were being evacuated from the Philippines and due to Allied air raids, they were quickly loaded onto the ship, with more people placed in the one hold than could be reasonably accommodated. Each POW was given eight five-gallon oil cans for their waste, which quickly overflowed due to a number of men afflicted by [[dysentery]]. The POWs suffered through unsanitary conditions, extreme heat within the hold ({{convert|120|F|C|disp=comma}}) and a lack of water.{{sfn|Glusman|2005|pp=354–355}}{{sfn|Michno|2001|p=250}}

''Arisan Maru'' then departed Manila and sailed south to the west coast of [[Palawan]]. During this time an escape attempt led to a POW death, and four other POWs died of sickness. There, along the Palawan coast, ''Arisan Maru'' waited for several days while Allied air raids hit Manila. Then, on October 20, the freighter returned to Manila.{{sfn|Michno|2001|p=250}}

===Final voyage===
On October 21, ''Arisan Maru'' departed Manila for the final time, joining convoy MATA-30  heading for [[Kaohsiung|Takao]]. The convoy was composed of 13 merchant vessels, three [[destroyer]]s as escorts and one fleet supply ship. ''Arisan Maru'' was one of the slowest ships in the convoy, capable of making no more than {{convert|7|kn|lk=in}}. On October 23, the destroyers began picking up signals from American submarines. Roughly {{convert|200|nmi|lk=in}} west of Cape Bojeador, [[Luzon]], the convoy was ordered to break up due to the sheer number and to sail at fastest possible speed for Takao (modern day Kaohsiung Taiwan) due to the American submarine threat.{{sfn|Michno|2001|p=250}}

On October 24, 1944, ''Arisan Maru'', by then traveling alone, was steaming in the Bashi Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan with 1,781 POWs, mostly Americans. Being an unmarked ship and mistaken for a Japanese cargo or troop transport,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lendon |first=Brad |date=2024-04-03 |title=A double dose of hell: The Bataan Death March and what came next |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/bataan-death-march-intl-hnk-ml-dst/index.html |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> it was hit by a [[torpedo]] from {{USS|Shark|SS-314|6}},<ref>Was this sinking by the USS Shark or USS Snook? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Snook_(SS-279)#Seventh_patrol</ref> at about 5 p.m. in the No.3 hold. The ship buckled amidships, the engines stopped and the aft [[Mast (sailing)|mast]] fell, but the freighter stayed afloat. She finally sank around 7:40 p.m at {{coordinates|20|46|N|118|18|E|display=title, inline|name=Arisan Maru}}.{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}{{sfn|Glusman|2005|p=359}} In response to the torpedo, the destroyers {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Take|1944|2}} and {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Harukaze|1922|2}} attacked and sank ''Shark''. After dealing with the American submarine, the two destroyers returned to ''Arisan Maru'' to look for survivors.{{sfn|Glusman|2005|p=359}} No POWs were killed by the torpedo strikes and nearly all were able to leave the ship's holds but the Japanese did not rescue any of the POWs that day, only Japanese. Only nine of the prisoners aboard survived the event. Five escaped and made their way to China in one of the ship's two lifeboats. They were reunited with U.S. Forces and returned to the United States. The four others were later recaptured by Imperial Japanese naval vessels, where one died shortly after reaching land.{{sfn|Michno|2001|pp=254–258}}

The ''Arisan Maru'' tragedy resulted to the greatest loss of American life in maritime history.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
* [[List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines]]
* [[List of maritime disasters in World War II]]
* [[Sultana (steamboat)]]

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Glusman |first=John A. |year=2005 |title=Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors and Their Fight for Life as Prisoners of the Japanese 1941–1945 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |isbn=0-14-20-0222-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Michno |first=Gregory F. |year=2001 |title=Death on the Hellships: Prisoners at Sea in the Pacific War |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-55750-482-2 }}
* {{csr|register=MSI|id=4050745|shipname=Arisan Maru|accessdate=17 April 2019 |ref={{sfnref|Miramar Ship Index}}}}

==Further reading==
* Wilber, Dale. ''The Last Voyage of the Arisan Maru''. 2008. {{ISBN|1604419814}}

==External links==
* [http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1b.html#maritime_disasters_1944 Maritime Disasters of World War II].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071009080338/http://users.bentonrea.com/~lnehls/ US POW lost on Arisan Maru]
* [http://www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/Bowen.htm The Arisan Maru Tragedy]

{{October 1944 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by American submarines]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Japanese hell ships]]