May 2023

Malaysia's maritime authorities have detained a Chinese-flagged cargo ship amid reports this month that scavengers targeted two British World War Two wrecks off the coast of Malaysia—the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse—which were sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1941.

An inspection of the cargo ship led to the discovery of old steel and cannon shells believed to have been scavenged from the HMS Prince of Wales. The shells could be linked to a separate seizure by police at a Johor jetty last week of multiple unexploded World War II-era artillery.

USS Mannert L. Abele (DD-733), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy, which was launched on 23 April 1944. On 12 April 1945, the Mannert L. Abele was operating 75 miles off the northern coast of Okinawa when enemy aircraft appeared on radar.