Draft:Ymanafuji Maru

Ymanafuji Maru (Japanese: やまふじまる) is self-operated by Japan Yamashita Steamship Co., Ltd., with a total weight of 5,359 metric tons. The ship was built by J. Coughlan & Sons, Ltd in Vancouver, Canada, in 1919 and named the Canadian Importer. It was sold to Yamashita Steamboat on December 8, 1937, and renamed "Ymanafuji Maru." On October 19, 1942 (Showa's 17th year in Japan), the ship hit a rock and sank in the south of Chamu Island, Penghu Islands.

History

In early 1918, the Canadian government decided to create a merchant fleet in response to a severe shortage of shipping worldwide. The Canadian government placed orders with 14 domestic shipbuilding companies based on the appropriation of funds. The Canada Import is a Type B wartime standard ship. It was built by Coughlan and Sons Shipyard in Vancouver on November 14, 1919, and launched on May 25, 1920. It was officially completed on August 1 of the same year. Initially, the ship was owned by Canadian Importer Ltd. and then transferred to Canadian National Steamships Ltd. in 1928 for operation. After many transfers, it was finally purchased by Yamashita Steamship on December 8, 1937, and renamed "Ymanafuji Maru." On December 31, 1938 (Showa's 13th year in Japan), Ymanafuji Maru departed from Nagasaki. On January 3, it hit a reef in Okinawa Prefecture on Tobetsu Island and sent a distress signal. On the morning of the 8th, it entered Keelung Port for repairs. During World War II, Japan incorporated the civil shipping business into national management, used to transport workforce and food materials. On October 18, 1942, the "Ymanafuji Maru" was requisitioned by the Army, struck a reef, and sank in the south of Chamu Island of the Penghu Islands the next day (the 19th) after leaving Kaohsiung.

There are two theories regarding the sinking of Ymanafuji Maru. One theory is that it was stranded and sunk. Another theory is that a torpedo attack from a U.S. submarine sank it. However, according to historical clues, the sinking of Ymanafuji Maru is more conformed to the facts. According to the records of the "History of Disasters of the Japanese Merchant Fleet during the War," the sinking of the Ymanafuji Maru was classified as an "ordinary shipwreck." It was counted as separate from the 29 ships sunk as "war shipwrecks."

Shipwreck

The shipwreck site of Ymanafuji Maru is located in the ​​Liuchijiao sea area, Penghu, where the water depth is about 9 to 52 m. The Bureau of Cultural Heritage, MOC underwater archeology team conducted an underwater exploration on May 5, 2010. They found that the wreckage had been broken into three sections, located in the depth range of 9 to 12 m, 39 to 42m, and 48 to 52 m, respectively. The shipwreck site is about 50 m long from east to west, 180 m wide from north to south, and covers an area of ​​about 9,000 square meters.

Ymanafuji Maru was one of the freighters recruited by the Japanese government during World War II. In addition to the original items, related military supplies were on board. According to the underwater survey on May 7, 2010, 14 relics were unearthed. These were mainly hull parts and tableware, including round electromechanical units, round window frames, porcelain pieces, metal dinner forks, copper pipes, copper plates, copper pipe adapters, oval iron frames, three iron anchors, L-shaped copper pipes, n-shaped metal, copper buckles, round white porcelain insulators, white-glazed bowl rim remnants, metal plates, metal connectors, copper circular window frames, metal window frames, etc. However, strong currents at the sinking site made salvage operations challenging. Since Ymanafuji Maru was a ship conscripted by Japan during World War II, it may serve as a subject for studying the history of Japanese ship conscripts, shipwreck history, tableware history, and modern Japanese ship technology history. This ship was listed and tracked as an essential underwater cultural asset of Taiwan by the Cultural Assets Bureau of the Ministry of Culture in 2015.