In service 1920-1944 Launched January 1920 Builder J. F. Duthie & Company | Out of service 30 June 1944 Armament depth charge launchers Tonnage 5.08 million kg | |
Fate Torpedoed and sunk 30 June 1944 | ||
Nikkin Maru was a 5,600-ton Japanese troop transport during World War II, which sank on 30 June 1944 with great loss of life.
Nikkin Maru was originally built in January 1920 as the West Ivan by the J. F. Duthie & Company in Seattle for the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation. Renamed Golden West in 1928 and Canadian in 1937, she was confiscated by the Japanese in 1941 and renamed Hokusei Maru and finally Nikkin Maru.
On 30 June 1944, Nikkin Maru was transporting around 3,200 men of the Japanese 23rd Army from Korea to Japan. The unescorted Nikkin Maru was discovered by the US submarine USS Tang and torpedoed and sunk in the Yellow Sea off Mokpo, Korea, at position 35°05´N, 125°00´E. Probably all soldiers and crew members drowned, making the sinking of Nikkin Maru one of the worst maritime disasters in World War II.