Military shipwrecks are viewed as submerged graveyard , but some illegal salvage divers view their alloy hull as gold mine . Their quest for chip metals and valuable materials has led to the fond or complete death of up to 40 World War II ship in southeast Asia , fit in to adetailed accountbyThe Guardian .
gang of divers pretend to be fishermen or researchers have raided submerged ship around Indonesia , Singapore , and Malaysia . They might have been looking for steel scrap metal , or pig cables , phosphor bronze propellor , and radiation - costless steel , the last of which is used in scientific and medical equipment .
Some ships have been found turn out in one-half , while others have been completely removed . But these divers are n’t just destroying account , according to old stager and archaeologist — they’re also desecrate grave sites , as the 40 demolish or damaged ship may have hold back around 4500 corpses . They belong to World War II servicemen from countries include the United States , Australia , the Netherlands , and Japan .
Important British warships like the HMSExeter , HMSEncounter , and HMSElectra — all of which sank in the Java Sea in 1942 — have fall dupe to scavengers . So have the HMSRepulseand HMSPrince of Wales , which sankoff the coast of Malaysia in 1941 .
Australia , meanwhile , has suffered the deprivation of the HMASPerth , whichmet its endin 1942 , near the island of Java and Sumatra . closely 60 to 70 percentage of its Isaac Hull is fail , according to archaeologist . And Japanese ships have also been destroyed , with 100 still remaining vulnerable underwater . All of these ship likely had the torso of crew member onboard .
UK and U.S. officials have request that Indonesia protect historical sunken warships . In the meantime , Cambodian , Chinese , and Malaysian - registered vessels have all been pick out hovering around wrecks , and wreck scavenging looks like on the boost . The UK Ministry of Defence is asking the Indonesian government to pace in , according to a spokesperson quoted byThe Guardian : " A military crash should remain undisturbed and those who lost their lives onboard should be allowed to rest in pacification . "
[ h / tThe Guardian ]
