In May 1942 the Japanese began transferring POWs by sea. Similar to treatment on the Bataan Death March, prisoners were often crammed into cargo holds with little air, food or water for journeys that would last weeks. Many died due to asphyxia, starvation or dysentery. Some POWs became delirious and unresponsive in their environment of heat, humidity and lack of oxygen, food, and water. These unmarked prisoner transports were targeted as enemy ships by Allied submarines and aircraft.
More than 20,000 Allied POWs died at sea when the transport ships carrying them were attacked by Allied submarines and aircraft. Although Allied headquarters often knew of the presence of POWs through radio interception and code breaking, the ships were sunk because interdiction of critical strategic materials was more important than the deaths of prisoners-of-war,[3] and because Allied leaders feared that a pattern of sparing POW ships might lead the Japanese to abuse prisoners as human shields on valuable targets.
In 2012 film producer Jan Thompson created a film documentary on the hell ships, Death March, and POW camps titled Never the Same: The Prisoner-of-War Experience. The film reproduced scenes of the camps and ships, showed drawings and writings of the prisoners, and featured Loretta Swit as the narrator.
Canadian Inventor
Sekiho Maru
The Sehiiko Maru was formerly known as the Canadian Inventor. It transported a combination of 1,024 Allied prisoners of war. The ship departed Takao, Formosa on July 16, 1944. The ship had a number of mechanical breakdowns thereby arriving at Port Moji, Japan on September 1, 1944.
This is the ship that transported Torvald from the Philippines to Japan, with a few stops on the way.
Haven Hospital Ship
