Three World War II battleships mysteriously disappeared under the Indonesian sea floor

Authorities feared that three sunken ships off Indonesia more than 70 years ago could be stolen for scrap metal.

An international investigation is underway to find out the mysterious disappearance of the three Dutch shipwrecks submerged under the Java Sea off Indonesia, Guardian reported yesterday.

" The wreck HNLMS De Ruyter and HNLMS Java seem to have completely disappeared. The HNLMS Kortenaer also lost a large array , " the Dutch Ministry of Defense said.

All three ships were sunk in the Java Navy , marking the disastrous defeat of the Dutch, British, American and Australian coalition in Japanese troops in February 1942. This is one of the most expensive naval battles in history, enabling Japanese troops to occupy the entire Dutch East Indies colony. A total of 2,200 people, including 900 Dutch nationals and 250 Indonesians killed, and three sunken ships after the battle.

HNLMS Kortenaer before sinking in the naval battle of Java in 1942. (Photo: Wikipedia).

In 2002, a group of amateur divers found three intact warships. However, the expedition commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Java Naval War shows that these wrecks have disappeared. Three warships are no longer on the sea floor, although the sound wave image shows their traces.

"We are investigating to see what happens to the wrecks. The act of invading the grave of war is a serious insult , " the Dutch Ministry of Defense stressed.

Authorities suspect the bodies of these warships were illegally exploited as scrap metal. The waters around Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are cemeteries containing more than 100 warships and war-era submarines. Over the years, many people sneakily search for shipwreck locations and steal their steel, aluminum and copper parts.

A diving school in Malaysia once shared on the New Straits Times last year that the shipwreck was blown up with explosives, then fishermen picked up scrap metal on shore to sell.

The US military in 2014 also announced an unauthorized infringement of the sunken wreck of the USS Houston in the naval battle of Sunda waist in the Java Sea. This is the grave of nearly 650 sailors killed in this battle.

"Those who have sacrificed there need rest," Vleugels, director of the Dutch War Remnants Fund, told the ANP.