Japanese Hellship Hōfuku Maru Discovered off Luzon's Coast

More than 80 years after sinking in September 1944, the Japanese cargo ship Hōfuku Maru – used as a “hellship” to transport Allied prisoners of war – was located on the seafloor off the west coast of Luzon, Philippines. The vessel, which carried about 1,289 British and Dutch POWs and broke apart after a U.S. Navy air attack, was found near San Narciso at a depth of roughly 50 metres, far from the site previously recorded in historical accounts.

The discovery was made by an international research team led by the Hellships Memorial Foundation, with contributions from researcher John Duresky, explorer Josh Gates and technical divers. Using side‑scan sonar, underwater photogrammetry and newly uncovered Japanese convoy documents, the team confirmed the ship’s identity and corrected its long‑misplaced wreck location, bringing closure to families of the victims and revising World‑War‑II maritime history.

Only 242 of the prisoners survived the sinking, underscoring the brutal conditions aboard these “hellships”. The find highlights the role of archival research combined with modern marine technology in resolving historic maritime mysteries.