Mystery over WW2 shipwrecks vanished from Java Sea bed

[jimmy olsen]

Indonesian navy has to be complicit in this.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37997640

Mystery over Dutch WW2 shipwrecks vanished from Java Sea bed

Three Dutch World War Two ships considered war graves have vanished from the bottom of the Java Sea, the Dutch defence ministry says.

All three were sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942, and their wrecks were discovered by divers in 2002.

A report in the Guardian says three British ships have disappeared as well.

The British government says it is "distressed" by the reports and is investigating.

A new expedition to mark next year's 75th anniversary of the battle found the wrecks missing.

The Guardian says it has seen 3D images, showing large holes in the seabed where HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter, the destroyer HMS Electra, as well as a US submarine, used to be.

Experts say salvaging the wrecks would have been a huge operation.

The Dutch defence ministry is to investigate the mysterious disappearance.

In a statement, it said that two of its ships had completely gone, with sonar images only showing imprints, while large parts of a third ship, a destroyer, were missing.

"The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence," the ministry said.

The UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had contacted the Indonesian authorities.

An MOD spokesperson said, "Many lives were lost during this battle and we would expect that these sites are respected and left undisturbed without the express consent of the United Kingdom."

Theo Doorman, 82, son of legendary Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, who led the battle, was on the expedition which hoped to film the wrecks two weeks ago.

He said he could not believe his eyes when the sonar images came in, showing only a groove where his father's ship had been.

"I was sad," he said.

"Not angry. That doesn't get you anywhere. But sad. For centuries is was a custom not to disturb sailors' graves. But it did happen here."

NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE OF MILITARY HISTORY
The Battle of the Java Sea
27 February 1942

Allied action to stop Japanese Navy

Dutch, British, Australian, US forces ships involved
Five cruisers and nine destroyers involved, Led by Rear-

Admiral Karel Doorman

Only two ships remained

Vanished ships are HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, and HNLMS Kortenaer

Defeat led to the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)

The seas around Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are a graveyard for hundreds of ships and submarines sunk during the war.

Illegal salvaging of the wrecks for steel, aluminium and brass has become commonplace.

But the three missing wrecks were located 100km (60 miles) off the coast of Indonesia, at a depth of 70m. Salvage operators say it would not be easy to lift them.

"It is almost impossible to salvage this," Paul Koole of the salvage firm Mammoet told the Algemeen Dagblad. "It is far too deep."

Experts say the operation would have needed large cranes for long periods of time and would be unlikely to have gone unnoticed.

The Indonesian Navy, when contacted by the BBC, said they were unaware of the disappearance but said they would investigate.

"To say that the wreckage had gone suddenly, doesn't make sense," Navy spokesman Colonel Gig Sipasulta said. "It is underwater activities that can take months even years."
The Dutch authorities have also notified the other countries that formed part of the international expedition: the UK, Australia and the US.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Probably a side-effect of the recent commodities boom, plus complacent or corrupt local officials.

[dps]

Rust never sleeps.

[Maladict]

Already posted in the Black Sea thread   

[Admiral Yi]

We have a Black Sea thread?

[viper37]

Do not get confused with the black slaves thread.
The Black Sea thread is here:
http://languish.org/forums/index.php/topic,14465.0.html

[Tamas]

"mystery"  oh you Westerners.

[The Brain]

It's not a universal thing to leave ships with dead people in them in peace. The Vasa was raised for instance. Some Indonesian navy officers decided to make a buck, sad but not the end of the world. In Sweden the rescue equipment illegally sold off to buddies by navy officers was sorely missed when the Estonia went down. That's worse.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I hope those assholes are now Estonia non grata.

[jimmy olsen]

"mystery"  oh you Westerners.

Obviously they've been salvaged, almost certainly the government was complict, however we don't know which companies were involved. Surely there are quite a few who have the capability neccessary.

[Maladict]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/bodies-of-second-world-war-sailors-in-java-sea-dumped-in-mass-grave

Bodies of second world war sailors in Java sea 'dumped in mass grave'

Illegal metal scavengers accused of disposing of remains from British and Dutch warships

Daniel Boffey in Brussels

Mon 22 Jan 2018 15.17 GMT
Last modified on Mon 22 Jan 2018 22.00 GMT


The remains of second world war sailors who died on British and Dutch warships in the Java sea were secretly dumped in an anonymous mass grave by modern-day metal scavengers as they rifled through wrecks illegally lifted from the sea bed, it has been claimed.

The reports from Indonesian and Dutch media prompted the Ministry of Defence to condemn those who had disturbed the graves of the dead, and speak of their "distress" at the news.

In recent years a series of huge wrecks have been all but removed from the waters off Indonesia by operators seeking to cash in on the valuable metals on board.

The ships that have been dismantled or vanished included the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Electra, on which 119 men perished, HMS Exeter, a 175-metre heavy cruiser on which 54 died, and HMS Encounter, which was scuttled to avoid capture by the Japanese.

It has now been claimed that those employed by the illegal scavengers to cut up the ships on Indonesian soil had also found skulls, jawbones, feet and hand bones, hips and ribs during their work.

It was claimed that the remains were dumped in a mass grave near the port of Brondong, in east Java.

According to an Indonesian journalist, Aqwam Hanifan, reporting on the Indonesian website, Tirto.id, British and Dutch remains were bagged and buried to a depth of one metre.

One contractor, Haji Ghoni, responsible for processing the ships, was quoted as saying of the remains: "Sometimes they are there and sometimes not."
How the ships are salvaged

A ministry of defence spokesman said: "The British Government condemns the unauthorised disturbance of any wreck containing human remains. Under International Law naval warships and associated artefacts enjoy protection through Sovereign Immunity.

"International law also provides for protection for war graves. Desecration of wrecks of war and merchant vessels causes distress to loved ones of those lost on board and is against international law.

"A military wreck should remain undisturbed and those who lost their lives onboard should be allowed to rest in peace."

The development has also caused outrage in the Dutch parliament as it comes in the wake of a report on war wrecks from the country's defence ministry which suggested there were no leads as to the identity of the metal scavengers, let alone information to be gleaned about the fate of sailors' remains.

André Bosman, a Dutch MP, told the daily newspaper De Telegraaf: "These publications in Indonesia and now in De Telegraaf raise new questions and a feeling of great indignation."

Around 900 Dutch sailors died in the Battle of the Java sea on HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, and HNLMS Kortenaer. They were sunk, along with UK, Australian and US vessels, in 1942, during one of the costliest sea battles for the allies, only to be the target of the illegal metal traders in a particularly frenetic period of activity between 2014 and 2016.

Dutch divers, planning to put plaques on the vessels, found they had vanished in 2016.

The wrecks are regarded as treasure troves by the salvagers and it is thought that up to 40 second world war-era vessels in the Java sea have already been partially or completely destroyed. Even poor quality steel can bring in about £1m ($1.3m) a ship, according to estimates cited by the Guardian in a special report last year. Other metals valued from the wrecks including copper cables and phosphor bronze propellors.

The Indonesian government has insisted it is not to blame as there was no formal request for them to be protected.

This month the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust, which have charted every Royal Navy vessel ever lost around the globe, said they were linking up in an effort to deter those planning to rob sites in UK seas.

They will use satellites, radar and sensors to monitor suspicious activity near wreck sites, the Royal Navy said.