''Aratama Maru'' (

Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

:) was a merchant ship of the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. Launched in 1938, she was pressed into service as a munitions transport in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was struck by a torpedo fired from on April 8, 1944, while approaching

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

as part of a Japanese ammunition resupply convoy. Engulfed in flames, her crew abandoned her and were picked up by an escort vessel. After drifting for three days, the abandoned hull came to rest just inside the reef fringing

Talofofo Bay Talofofo Bay is an inlet in the south-eastern coast of the island of Guam at the mouth of the Talofofo River in the village of Talo'fo'fo. Talofofo Bay is notable for being one of the most accessible brown sand beaches of Guam. This brown sand i ...

on Guam's southeastern coast. While resting on the reef she split in half with the stern of the ship drifting off of the reef toward the Mariana Trench. The wreck was partially salvaged shortly afterward and was further salvaged in the 1960s, leaving only the hull remnants, the anchor with chain, and some elements of its superstructure. It has also been the subject of souvenir diving, and its position and condition have been affected by several typhoons. ''Seahorse'' damaged '' Kizugawa Maru'' in the same attack, which was towed into

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...

for repairs and during a second American bombing attack was sank where she remains today. The shipwreck was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aratama Merchant ships of Japan World War II merchant ships of Japan World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Guam World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Guam Ships built in Japan Talofofo, Guam

See also

References

External links