Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago, has been found on a Chinese-registered vessel that is suspected of looting the two warships.
According to the BBC, Malaysia detained the Chinese-registered bulk carrier on Sunday for anchoring illegally at the site in the South China Sea.
The UK Ministry of Defence had earlier condemned the alleged raid as a ‘desecration’ of maritime war graves.
The Royal Navy battleships were dispatched to Singapore during the war to shore up the defence of Malaya. They were sunk by Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941 some 100km off the east coast of Malaysia.
Some 842 British sailors lost their lives when the vessels were sunk. This occurred just three days after Japan’s attack on the US fleet in Pearl Harbour.
The BBC reports that old shipwrecks are targeted by scavengers for their rare low-background steel, also known as ‘pre-war steel’. The low radiation in the steel makes it a rare and valuable resource for use in medical and scientific equipment.
[Image: HMS Prince of Wales coming in to moor at Singapore, 4 December 1941. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_of_Wales_(53)#/media/File:HMS_Prince_Of_Wales_in_Singapore.jpg]
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