Aratama Maru
 Aratama Maru in Talofofo Bay, sometime from 1944 to 1947
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Aratama Maru |
| Builder | Tsurumi Steel Shipyard, Japan |
| Launched | 1938 |
| Fate | struck by torpedo March 26, 1944, hulk sank in Talofofo Bay, Guam, April 12, 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 6,784 GRT |
| Draft | 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) |
| Speed | 15.2 knots (28.2 km/h; 17.5 mph) |
Aratama Maru | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
  | |
| Location | Talofofo Bay |
| Nearest city | Talofofo, Guam |
| Coordinates | 13°20′5″N 144°46′2″E / 13.33472°N 144.76722°ECoordinates: 13°20′5″N 144°46′2″E / 13.33472°N 144.76722°E |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000612[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 2. 1988 |
Aratama Maru (Kanji:新玉丸) was a merchant ship of the Empire of Japan. Launched in 1938, she was pressed into service as a munitions transport in World War II. She was struck by a torpedo fired from USS Seahorse on April 8, 1944, while approaching Guam as part of a Japanese supply convoy. Engulfed in flames, her crew abandoned her and were picked up by an escort vessel. After drifting for three days, the abandoned hulk came to rest just inside the reef fringing Talofofo Bay on Guam's southeastern coast. The wreck was partially salvaged shortly afterward, and was further salvaged in the 1960s, leaving only the hull and some elements of its superstructure. It has also been the subject of souvenir diving, and its position and condition have been affected by several typhoons.[2] Seahorse damaged Kizugawa Maru in the same attack, which was towed into Apra Harbor for repairs and eventually sunk.[3]
The shipwreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.[1]
See also[]
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Guam
Notes[]
Media related to Aratama Maru at Wikimedia Commons
- ^ Jump up to: a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Aratama Maru". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
- ^ "Seahorse (SS-304) of the US Navy". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
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- Merchant ships of Japan
- World War II merchant ships of Japan
- World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
- Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places
- National Register of Historic Places in Guam
- World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Guam
- Ships built in Japan
- Talofofo, Guam