The Hellships Memorial Foundation is seeking technical partners to help locate and document the wreck of the Shinyo Maru, sunk off Mindanao on September 7, 1944, while carrying hundreds of Allied prisoners of war. More than 80 years later, the wreck has never been conclusively located. Our historical research has helped narrow the search area, but the suspected site—approximately 700–1,000 feet (210–300 meters) deep—requires specialized deep-water survey technology and expertise.
We are inviting companies and organizations involved in deep-water sonar, AUVs, ROVs, multibeam survey, magnetometers, subsea positioning, high-resolution imaging, and marine survey operations to explore becoming an official Technical Partner in the Search for the Shinyo Maru. This is not simply an appeal for financial support; we are seeking equipment, expertise, survey capabilities, data analysis, vessel support, and other forms of technical collaboration.
Learn more about the mission, the technical challenge, and how your organization can help us answer an 80-year-old question: Where is the Shinyo Maru?
What Were the Hellships?
During World War II, Japanese transport ships were used to move Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees between prison camps, occupied territories, labor sites, and the Japanese home islands. Survivors later called these vessels the Hellships because of the overcrowding, heat, thirst, disease, and suffering endured below deck.
Understand what a Hellship really was
Major Hellship Tragedies
These ships are among the best known in the history of Japanese POW transport during World War II.
One of the worst maritime POW disasters of the war.
A major Hellship associated with prisoner transport from the Philippines.
One of the worst maritime POW disasters of the war.
An early and important Hellship disaster involving British prisoners of war.
Contact
Hellships Memorial Location
Waterfront Rd, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines.
Located on the Subic Bay Freeport (SBF), on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. The memorial is located on the shoreline near the headquarters of the SBFZ, Bldg 229.
The sunken remains of the Oryoku Maru lie about 500 yards from the site.
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email: info@hellshipsmemorial.org
Phone (63) 928 281 7629
The Hellships Memorial
The memorial exists to honor Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees who suffered and died aboard these ships. It is a place of remembrance, reflection, and historical awareness.