Name Tōfuku Maru Port of registry Kobe Launched 1919 | Owner Daiko Shosen K.K. Fate sunk by USS Gurnard | |
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Builder Kawasaki Dockyard Co. Ltd. Out of service 24 December 1943 (sunk/torpedoed) | ||
The Tōfuku Maru (東福丸) was a Japanese Dai-ichi Taifuku Maru-class built and operated cargo ship and hellship.
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Hellship
Between October 27 and November 27, 1942 it transported 1200 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and 600 Japanese Army troops between Singapore and Moji, Japan. Twenty-seven prisoners died during the journey, the result of poor hygiene conditions on the ship. A further 130 were carried off the ship on stretchers and as many as 100 died later.
On 24 December 1943, the USS Gurnard sunk the Tōfuku Maru off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
War crimes trial
During a Singapore War Crimes trial, Ship's Master Shiro Otsu and Serjeant Major Eiji Yoshinari were tried for war crimes that caused the deaths of prisoners on the voyage. During the trial it was found that the POWs (a mix of American, Dutch, Australian and British) were crammed into two holding areas with an average area of 5 men per 6 square foot and that toiletry facilities and foods were insufficient for their needs. On 11 June 1947, Otsu was found guilty and Yoshinari was acquitted.