HMS Exeter

[andy123]

Hi.

The heavy cruiser HMS Exeter was sunk 1st March 1942 by the Japanese during the second battle of The Java sea.

The cruiser was a veteran of various battles including the battle of The River Plate, and the first battle of The Java sea and elsewhere.

The wreck was only located in 2007. I was quite shocked when I heard that the wreck no longer exists having been totally cut up and removed from the sea bed by scrap merchants! What a way to treat the many that went down with her.

From what I understand this is happening to or has happened to a number of other wartime wrecks in that region.

Andy

[sitges1990]

Sad for sure Andy. The rate at which these historic ships are being scrapped is despicable. Modern technology today allows commercial divers to work fairly effortlessly down to 1000 feet. The ships that used to be safe in the deeper water aren't so safe any more.

Jay

[Glenn66]

Greed and corruption, plain and simple...

[andy123]

From doing a bit more reading it gets worse.

At least 2 more British ships, HMS Electra and HMS Encounter, and 3 Dutch ships, HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HNLMS Kortenaer, and the US submarine Perch have gone as well. I should imagine that Japanese vessels have been removed as well.

Disgusting!

[big ned]

Hi.

The heavy cruiser HMS Exeter was sunk 1st March 1942 by the Japanese during the second battle of The Java sea.

The cruiser was a veteran of various battles including the battle of The River Plate, and the first battle of The Java sea and elsewhere.

The wreck was only located in 2007. I was quite shocked when I heard that the wreck no longer exists having been totally cut up and removed from the sea bed by scrap merchants! What a way to treat the many that went down with her.

From what I understand this is happening to or has happened to a number of other wartime wrecks in that region.

Andy

From doing a bit more reading it gets worse.

At least 2 more British ships, HMS Electra and HMS Encounter, and 3 Dutch ships, HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HNLMS Kortenaer, and the US submarine Perch have gone as well. I should imagine that Japanese vessels have been removed as well.

Disgusting!

There is no International Law that protects war graves, either on sea or land. Civilised western countries do have laws, but these only apply on their territories. With western political influence more or less vanished from that region, there is nothing to stop the Chinese/Southern Asiatic scrap industry from hoovering everything up, and the chances of local unscrupulous scrap merchants caring a damn about war dead from an alien and long gone colonial power is about zero.

By coincidence regarding the apparent wholesale scrapping Dutch vessels, it should be remembered that Dutch salvage companies have been "recovering" valuable metals from the wrecks (and war graves) of ships from the battle of Jutland in the North Sea for years. And let's not forget our own British government agreeing to the recovery of nearly £50m of gold at todays prices from HMS Edinburgh back in 1981. When it comes to money; the mean, greedy, venal, jealous and dishonest characteristics of international business forsakes all respect and sentiments regarding the war dead of any nation, and sadly that will never change in the future.

Regards, Ned.