What Were the Hellships?
During World War II, the term “hell ship” came to describe one of the most notorious aspects of the Pacific War—the unmarked Japanese transport vessels that carried Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian internees under unimaginable conditions. These ships were not built for passengers; most had been ordinary freighters or cargo vessels hastily converted into makeshift transports. Their purpose was grim: to move forced laborers across the Japanese Empire, from the Philippines to Japan, Taiwan, or Manchuria.
The experience aboard a hell ship was a descent into suffering that few survived unscarred. Crammed into dark, airless holds, hundreds—sometimes over a thousand—men were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in spaces meant for coal or grain. Ventilation was minimal, food consisted of a handful of rice and water, and sanitation was nonexistent. Human waste accumulated quickly, leading to disease outbreaks that spread unchecked. Dysentery, beriberi, and cholera claimed many lives before the ships even left port. Survivors later described the stench, heat, and suffocation as nearly unbearable—some compared it to being buried alive.
To make matters worse, the ships bore no special markings. Despite international laws requiring prisoner transports to be clearly identified, Japan refused to mark them. As a result, Allied submarines and aircraft, unaware that POWs were aboard, targeted the convoys as legitimate military shipping. Tragedy struck again and again. The Arisan Maru was sunk in October 1944 by a U.S. submarine, killing nearly all 1,800 POWs aboard—the deadliest loss of American life at sea in history. The Montevideo Maru went down in 1942 with over 1,000 Australian and Allied prisoners, making it Australia’s worst maritime disaster.
One of the most infamous cases was the Ōryoku Maru. In December 1944, it left Manila with more than 1,600 prisoners packed inside. U.S. Navy planes attacked the ship in Subic Bay, and hundreds of POWs were killed instantly. Those who survived the sinking endured further transport on other vessels—the Enoura Maru and Brazil Maru—where starvation and disease killed hundreds more before reaching Japan.
Altogether, historians estimate that around 134 Japanese vessels carried Allied POWs on more than 150 voyages. Of the 126,000 men transported, roughly 20,000 never made it to their destination. Their deaths were not only the result of combat at sea, but also of deliberate neglect and cruelty by their captors. Survivors’ testimonies painted a vivid picture of men clawing for air near open hatches, trading drops of water, or watching comrades die in the darkness.
After the war, the hell ships became evidence in war crimes trials against Japanese commanders and shipping officials. Yet for many families of the dead, closure came slowly. The lack of records, the chaotic wartime conditions, and the loss of so many lives at sea meant decades of unanswered questions.
Today, memorials in the Philippines, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere honor the victims of the hell ships. Their story serves as a stark reminder that war’s cruelty is not only found on battlefields, but also in the hidden holds of forgotten ships where thousands suffered and died.
