UMNOPutra
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2016
- Messages
- 429
- Reaction score
- -2
- Country
- Location
Mystery over Dutch WW2 shipwrecks vanished from Java Sea bed
Three Dutch World War Two ships considered war graves have vanished from the bottom of the Java Sea, the Dutch defence ministry says.
All three were sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942, and their wrecks were discovered by divers in 2002.
A report in the Guardian says three British ships have disappeared as well.
The British government says it is "distressed" by the reports and is investigating.
A new expedition to mark next year's 75th anniversary of the battle found the wrecks missing.
The Guardian says it has seen 3D images, showing large holes in the seabed where HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter, the destroyer HMS Electra, as well as a US submarine, used to be.
Experts say salvaging the wrecks would have been a huge operation.
The Dutch defence ministry is to investigate the mysterious disappearance.
In a statement, it said that two of its ships had completely gone, with sonar images only showing imprints, while large parts of a third ship, a destroyer, were missing.
"The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence," the ministry said.
The UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had contacted the Indonesian authorities.
An MOD spokesperson said, "Many lives were lost during this battle and we would expect that these sites are respected and left undisturbed without the express consent of the United Kingdom."
Deep sea salvage: How to recover lost treasures of the deep
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37997640
Three Dutch World War Two ships considered war graves have vanished from the bottom of the Java Sea, the Dutch defence ministry says.
All three were sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942, and their wrecks were discovered by divers in 2002.
A report in the Guardian says three British ships have disappeared as well.
The British government says it is "distressed" by the reports and is investigating.
A new expedition to mark next year's 75th anniversary of the battle found the wrecks missing.
The Guardian says it has seen 3D images, showing large holes in the seabed where HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter, the destroyer HMS Electra, as well as a US submarine, used to be.
Experts say salvaging the wrecks would have been a huge operation.
The Dutch defence ministry is to investigate the mysterious disappearance.
In a statement, it said that two of its ships had completely gone, with sonar images only showing imprints, while large parts of a third ship, a destroyer, were missing.
"The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence," the ministry said.
The UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had contacted the Indonesian authorities.
An MOD spokesperson said, "Many lives were lost during this battle and we would expect that these sites are respected and left undisturbed without the express consent of the United Kingdom."
Deep sea salvage: How to recover lost treasures of the deep
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37997640
