Wreck of WWII 'Hell Ship' Hōfuku Maru Found Off the Philippines, Grave of More Than 1,000 Allied POWs

Explorer Josh Gates and a team working with the Hellships Memorial Foundation announced on June 18, 2026 the discovery of the wreck of the Hōfuku Maru, a Japanese prison transport ship sunk by an Allied airstrike on September 21, 1944 with up to 1,000 British and Dutch prisoners of war still trapped in her holds — one of the largest single-day losses of Allied POWs of the war. The freighter, part of a convoy evacuating POWs from the Philippines, broke in half and sank in under three minutes after being struck. The wreck was located in roughly 160 feet of water near Zambales province, off the western coast of Luzon. Maritime archaeologist Calvin Mires of Marine Imaging Technologies and underwater imaging specialist Evan Kovacs used photogrammetry to build a 3D model of the site from hundreds of images. A key breakthrough came in June 2025, when researcher John Duresky located a digitized Japanese document from officers aboard the convoy's lead ship, containing a timeline and a map showing exactly where the convoy was struck and confirming the Hōfuku Maru was second in line when she was hit. The discovery is the subject of a two-part season premiere of Discovery Channel's 'Expedition Unknown,' which aired June 24, 2026.