South Pacific’s Biggest

The Japanese Pull Out South Pacific’s Biggest Salvage Job Ends

From a Rabaul Correspondent The biggest shipping salvage project ever carried out south of the Equator concluded early in December when a team of Japanese divers and technicians and their four ships broke camp in Bougainville.

lOR three years the men had been clearing war-time wrecked ship ping from the shores of New itain and Bougainville, rheir first camp was established the shores of Simpson Harbour, ,baul, in January, 1957, but for 3 past few years the operation d been based at Bougainville, rhe men and ships revisited ,baul on their way home after making camp. The ships included 3 4,000-ton salvage mother ship itose Maru, a big floating crane, divers’ tender vessel and a sea ing tug. rhe crane and the two smaller >sels were left in Rabaul, where ey will be picked up during 1960 ten another salvage team attacks project in the British Solomon ands.

Diverted to Rescue Leaving a skeleton crew at ibaul to care for the crane and o smaller vessels, Chitose Maru d planned to begin the homeward irney to Japan early in December. 3he was diverted to Helen Reef, the West Carolines, however, tere a modern 7,000-ton Japanese sighter, Nagasaki Maru had gone round. Latest reports indicate it heavy weather in the Carolines ,s delaying salvage work on \gasaki Maru. rhe history of the Japanese Ivage operations in New Guinea ikes a strange story—and a story iich nearly did not have a chance start.

LTp to 1956 public opposition vards Japanese re-entry into New linea was so great that Japanese Ivage operators would not have >od a chance of coming to any rangements. [Jp to that time the only Japanese visit Rabaul since the war had en members of a war graves party d fishing boats in distress.

Even in Rabaul Town Advisory iuncil a motion had been passed posing on principal the re-entry Japanese to carry out salvage erations.

General opinion was: “The Jap ese started the war that caused ch destruction and loss of ship ig, and there is no reason why

they should get the salvage job.”

Later it became increasingly apparent that Japan was about the only nation capable of carrying out the work on an economic basis, and eventually the Okada Gumi Salvage Company was allowed to enter and carry out the work.

Some sections of the public appealed for stringent stipulations against the salvage teams—where they should live, who they should have contact with, and how they should behave.

In the final analysis the project boiled down to a seven-day wonder.

The Japanese worked hard and well and gave no one cause for com plaint. They were seen about the town in Rabaul frequently, but they stuck to themselves.

There was only one incident, and a small one at that. Two of the salvage workers chased a Chinese girl in a cafe, and a complaint was lodged with the police.

The officer on duty acted with great presence of mind by simply picking up the two men, taking them back to their camp, and reporting the matter unofficially to the officer in charge of the camp. The two men were returned to Japan, and most people did not even know that the incident had occurred.

In the three-year history of the operation only one life was lost— that of a seaman who was washed overboard from a floating crane.

Well known and highly experi enced Australian diver Jack Childs, of Rabaul, worked with the Jap anese engineers throughout the project, and was responsible for the preliminary setting up of salvage depots.

The general pattern of the Jap anese operations was to blow up a sunken ship under water, cut it into manageable proportions 1 while still on the bottom, and then raise the pieces to the surface with the float ing crane.

The pieces were then further cut up in depots and shipped as scrap to Japan in Chitose Maru.

One complete hull was refloated in Great Harbour, near Rabaul, and was towed to the Rabaul base camp.

The hull was that of the motor ship Herstein, which was bombed and sunk at Rabaul on her maiden voyage in 1942.

One of the earliest pieces of “salvage” carried out by the Jap anese was to purchase two tugs which had been tied up at Rabaul wharf in an unserviceable condition for several years.

The two were put together to make one serviceable one which was used throughout the salvage project.

The floating crane performed a number of jobs for the Adminis tration and for private enterprise while stationed at Rabaul, One of its biggest outside jobs was to assist reconstruction of the second main wharf (called the “Ship” or “Wreck” wharf) at Rabaul.