The small ex Dutch vessel, sunk at Batavia in 1942 and refloated again by the Japanese, set sail from Ambon in the Muluccas on September 17 commanded by Lieutenant Kurishima. Over-crowded with 500 British and Dutch P.O.W.s, who had been working on the building of an airstrip on the island, another 130 prisoners were picked up on the way, making conditions on board horrendous with only two wooden boxes slung over the ship’s sides to act as toilets.
Her destination was Surabaya in Java but halfway there, the ship’s engine broke down and the vessel had to enter the port of Macassar, South Celebes, for repairs. The repairs took longer than anticipated, and after 40 days in the harbour, the prisoners, who were not allowed to leave the ship, began dying in increasing numbers. Cramped conditions, lack of fresh air and no proper food caused the deaths of 159 prisoners during its time in dock. Eventually, sixty-seven days after she had sailed from Ambon, the ‘Maros Maru’ reached Surabaya.
Of the 630 prisoners who had initially been on board only 325 men, half-dead, diseased and crawling with vermin, survived