Lisbon Maru

In 1942, Lisbon Maru became one of the most tragic Hellship disasters involving British prisoners of war. A Japanese freighter used to transport POWs captured after the fall of Hong Kong, it sailed north on 27 September 1942 carrying 1,816 British POWs bound toward Shanghai and Japan. On 1 October 1942, off the Zhoushan Islands near the Chinese coast, the unmarked ship was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Grouper, whose crew had no way of knowing Allied prisoners were aboard. Over the next day, as the damaged ship sank and Japanese guards kept many prisoners confined below decks, 828 British POWs died. The courage of local Chinese fishermen, who rescued many survivors, has remained central to the ship’s legacy ever since.

Key facts

  • Type: Cargo ship (later used as POW transport)

  • Built: 1920, by Kokusai Kisen K.K., Japan

  • Tonnage: Approx. 7,000 tons gross register

  • Sinking date: October 2, 1942

  • Casualties: Over 800 Allied POWs killed

The Ship

Lisbon Maru was a Japanese freighter employed in wartime transport service. By late 1942 it was being used to move British POWs from Hong Kong deeper into the Japanese wartime labor system. Like other ships later remembered as Hellships, it was not marked to indicate the presence of prisoners of war, despite sailing through waters where Allied submarines were actively attacking Japanese shipping. The ship later became one of the best-known symbols of the suffering of British POWs in East Asia.

The Voyage

Following the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941, many British and Commonwealth servicemen were taken prisoner. On 27 September 1942, a selected group of 1,816 British POWs was moved from Hong Kong and loaded onto Lisbon Maru. LiMMA’s public history notes that the ship sailed from Hong Kong at daybreak, carrying men from several services and units, including Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Middlesex Regiment, Royal Scots, Winnipeg Grenadiers, and others. The prisoners were being transported to provide labor for the Japanese war effort.

The Attack or Loss

At about 7:04 a.m. on 1 October 1942, USS Grouper attacked Lisbon Maru off the Chinese coast. LiMMA’s detailed account records that multiple torpedoes were fired and at least two hits were scored. The damaged ship did not sink immediately, and Japanese forces later moved it closer to shore near the Zhoushan Islands. As the crisis deepened, many British prisoners remained trapped below decks. On 2 October 1942, as the ship finally went down, men struggled to escape from the holds into a sea already filled with wreckage, bodies, and oil. Chinese fishermen from nearby islands put out in small boats and rescued many of the men they found in the water.

Casualties and Survivors

The core casualty figure for Lisbon Maru is consistent across the principal public sources: 1,816 POWs sailed, and 828 died in the sinking and immediate aftermath. LiMMA presents the ship specifically as the loss of 828 British prisoners of war, and memorial speeches linked to the project repeat the same figure. Public historical interpretation also notes that not all who survived the sinking survived the war; LiMMA’s broader “The Men” page states that of the 1,816 men who set sail, 828 died in the sinking and 246 more later died in or returning from captivity. For page purposes, the clearest approach is to distinguish between the 828 killed in the Lisbon Maru disaster itself and those who survived the sinking but later died elsewhere in captivity.

Legacy and Memorialization

Lisbon Maru holds a central place in British POW history and in the wider memory of the Hellships. Its story is significant not only because of the scale of the loss, but because of the humanity shown by the Chinese fishermen who risked their own safety to save British prisoners in the water. In recent years, the Lisbon Maru Memorial Association (LiMMA) has played a major role in preserving the history of the sinking, supporting annual remembrance, and maintaining memorial interpretation. The ship’s legacy now stands at the intersection of British remembrance, Chinese humanitarian courage, and the broader history of unmarked POW transport ships in East Asia.

Sources

  • Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, LiMMA home page

  • Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, On Board the Lisbon Maru / sinking timeline

  • Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, Background to the UK memorial

  • Imperial War Museums, The Sinking of Prisoner of War Transport Ships in East Asia

  • Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, Further information / bibliography

Related pages

  • Montevideo Maru

  • Jun’yō Maru

  • Rakuyō Maru

  • Hellships Casualty Database

  • Hellships Survivor Records

  • Hellships Research Center

  • Hellships Researcher Guide