Wartime grave disruption alleged in scrap harvesting effort

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained a salvage vessel reportedly registered in China that was engaged in harvesting metal from two ships sunk during World War II. The two British Royal Navy vessels were sunk by Japanese forces, leading to the deaths of more than 840 sailors

AP News reports the MMEA found an artillery shell believed to be from that era at a scrap yard that may have been in contact with the Chinese-registered vessel. Subsequently, MMEA officials are investigating if the vessel and its crew were involved in retrieving materials from the two Royal Navy vessels.

The HMS Repulse and the HMS Prince of Wales were sunk in late 1941 by Japanese torpedoes. Since an estimated 842 sailors went down with their ships, the wrecks have been designated as war graves, AP News reports.

The vessel was detained by the MMEA in late May after fishermen and divers notified the Malaysian government the boat seemed to be operating near the wrecks while it was anchored in the South China Sea.

According to AP News, the vessel is registered in Fuzhou, China, and did not have permission to anchor off the southern Malaysian state of Johor. There reportedly are 32 crew members on the salvage ship, including 21 from China, 10 from Bangladesh and one from Malaysia.

A photo released by the MMEA shows the artillery shell and other pieces of metal. According to AP News, the MMEA is working with other Malaysia government entities to determine if the shell matches those used by the Royal Navy in 1941.

Also being investigated is a scrap yard in Johor, according to AP News, where metal allegedly salvaged from the sites was taken and subsequently seized.

Steel producers place a premium on pre-World War II-era steel scrap because it was produced before background radiation levels increased during the Cold War era of ongoing nuclear weapons testing. The absence of any radiation is helpful when producing some measurement instruments.

A New Straits Times report indicates previous efforts have been made to harvest metal from the wrecks, including one that resulted in the detention of a vessel registered in Vietnam.