The Ship

The Jun'yō Maru was a Japanese cargo ship requisitioned to transport prisoners of war and forced laborers during World War II. On September 18, 1944, it became the site of one of the worst maritime disasters of the war when it was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Tradewind off the coast of Sumatra.

The Human Toll

The ship was carrying over 6,500 people, including approximately 1,450 Allied POWs—mostly Dutch—and more than 5,000 Javanese forced laborers known as romusha. Packed in appalling conditions without markings, the Jun'yō Maru was struck by two torpedoes and sank within minutes. Over 5,600 men died in the disaster, making it one of the deadliest hellship sinkings of the war.

“There was no time to think. The ship broke apart and men were swallowed by the sea. The screams... I still hear them.” — Dutch POW Survivor

The Aftermath

Fewer than 900 men survived the sinking. Those who did were subjected to further forced labor on the Sumatra Railway. The tragedy of the Jun'yō Maru remains largely unknown outside the Netherlands and Indonesia, despite its scale.

Legacy

The Hellships Memorial honors the memory of the thousands who perished aboard the Jun'yō Maru. Their suffering represents one of the darkest chapters of the Pacific War. By remembering them, we preserve the truth and confront the human cost of wartime cruelty.

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