SS De Klerk

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SS De Klerk.png
SS De Klerk in Dutch cargo service
History
Netherlands
NameDe Klerk
OwnerNV Koninklijke Paketvaart Mij
Builder
Launched13 October 1900
CommissionedDecember 1900
FateScuttled in 1942
History
Empire of Japan
NameImabari Maru
Acquired28 November 1942
FateSunk in 1944
General characteristics
TypePassenger-cargo liner
Displacement1,986 tons
Length91.4 m (299 ft 10 in)
Beam12.3 m (40 ft 4 in)
Installed power1250 hp (Maximum)
Propulsion1 x Triple Expansion Steam Engine
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) maximum
Boats & landing
craft carried		6 x boats
Complement1000+

SS De Klerk was a Dutch passenger-cargo liner owned by NV Koninklijke Paketvaart Mij (KPM) Batavia.[1][2]

Construction and history[]

Dutch service[]

SS De Klerk was constructed in early 1900 until December 1900 by Netherlandsche SB, in Amsterdam, where she was commissioned not long after.

In 1928, She was renovated to hold 1,327 passengers aboard. De Klerk was converted to a troop carrier in December 1941. She was scuttled in port by the Royal Dutch Navy in Tanjong Priok, West Malaysia on 2 March 1942 to prevent capture by the Japanese.[3]

Japanese service[]

The Japanese found the ship and refloated De Klerk in 1942. They converted her into a prisoner of war Transport ship renamed Imabari Maru (今治丸). She was steaming off to Manila, Philippines, carrying 339 PoWs, slaves and comfort Women who all died when she hit a mine off Labuan, Malaysia at 9:45am and sank quickly after in 1944. The 871 Japanese personal left with all the lifeboats for themselves which led to everyone who was left behind dying.[4]

Sinking[]

She lies on the sea bed 21 to 33 meters underwater opposite Labuan and Muara, Brunei. Imbari Maru lies 50 degree list to port. Divers are free to explore the wreck as there are many marine life around it. Lion fish and Frog fish can sometimes be spotted in the wreck. Her wreck was named “The Australian Wreck” which they mistakenly and falsely thought that she was sunk by Royal Australian Air Force on 16 September 1944.[5] The woods on the ship had all rotten away which exposes the cargos inside her such as Chinese crockery and bottles. Her wreck was discovered in 2003 and now being treated as a war grave and tourism site.

References[]

  1. ^ "SS De Klerk (Australian Wreck) Diving in Labuan". divescover.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  2. ^ "Navy amateur divers visit WW2 shipwrecks off Brunei". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  3. ^ Vlieland, Jerome Nicholas (2020-01-11). "Jerome Nicholas Vlieland: S.S.de Klerk". Jerome Nicholas Vlieland. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  4. ^ "SS De Klerk (Australian Wreck, Imbari Maru) - Brunei". DiveBuddy.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  5. ^ "The Australian Wreck or SS De Klerk was until recently believed to have been sunk by Australian air forces hence its name". malaysia.greatestdivesites.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
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