Indonesia ’s Java Sea is a gold mine for World War Two shipwrecks , meaning it ’s also ahaven for scrap metalscavengers . Now there aregrim reportsthat metal scavengers are illegally dumping the bodies of soldiers and skimmer in aggregative subaquatic grave .
one thousand of Dutch , British , US , Australian , and Nipponese sailors become flat during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942 , one of the most authoritative naval battles of the Pacific political campaign . For the Allies , it was also one of the most devastating licking at sea during WW2.Three Dutch gravy boat – HNLMS De Ruyter , Java , andKortenaer – and three British gravy boat – theHMS Exeter , Encounter , andElectra – were among the ships that sunk beneath the waves during this battle .
In 2016,Dutch diversheaded to the Java Sea with the plan of place commemorative plaques on the shipwreck , but they were nowhere to be found . It turned out these ships were among the dozens of wrecks that had beendismantled and sell off by illegal unionized racket of salvaging thieves . team of scavengers manoeuver out to get over down the shipwrecks . diver are then sent down and place explosives within the wreck . The metallic element is then collecting and sold off to shady “ under the counter ” bargainer across Southeast Asia .
A contractor for one of the scavenging rings recently told Indonesian intelligence siteTirto.idthat they have on a regular basis come across human skull , hips , paw castanets , and ribs during their body of work . After these remains are pick up , they are either floor back in the sea or put in sack and entomb in shallow Robert Ranke Graves near the harbour .
intelligibly , since these remains almost doubtless belong to lose soldier , the bureau are not too felicitous with these written report .
“ There is new information that has contact us through the metier . We must determine whether it is correct . We hope to do that quickly , because it is a very bad thing for the relatives of the warfare heroes who died in the Java Sea , ” Halbe Zijlstra , the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs , toldDe Telegraaf .
The UK Ministry of Defense issued a similar assertion tothe Guardian . “Desecration of wrecks of warfare and merchant vessels causes distraint to eff ones of those lost on display board and is against international constabulary . A military wreck should remain undisturbed and those who fall behind their lives onboard should be take into account to rest in peace , ” it said .
The UK and Dutch governments are now looking into using a naval presence and engineering science to dissuade further grave robberies .
