The Atago Maru was the first of two cargo ships to be built for Japan equipped with diesel engines. The second ship was the Asuka Maru which would be fitted with two B & W engines. The engines for the Atago Maru were installed by Messrs David Rowan and Co Ltd.

The ship was built by Lithgow & Company, Glasgow in 1924, being launched on June 17th 1924.

Sailings - August 1926 to March 1927:
Kobe, Yokohama to Victoria BC & Seattle, returning from Victoria or Vancouver. Some voyages might originate from Shanghai and call at Nagasaki.

During 1943 the Atago Maru was converted to an oil tanker.

The ship was bombed by a B-24 of the USAAF 13th Air Force on November 28th 1944 whilst at anchor just offshore from the Lutong refinery. The ship sank in eleven meters of water some three miles west of Piasau, Brunei. Sitting upright on a silty bottom, initially much of the superstructure remained above the water, but over the years the above water structures slowly disintegrated until only the two masts remained visible. The foremast fell down in 1981, the aft mast several years later.

Built: Lithgow & Company, Glasgow, yard No.724
Launched: June 1924
Tonnage: 7,544 tons
(Lloyds gross tons 7,543; below deck 7,021; nett 4,516)
Deadweight: 10,400 tons
Length: 440 feet
Breadth: 57.2 feet
Draught: 35.8 ft
Propulsion: Two Sulzer (Winterthur) 4ST68 totalling 5,588hp?? (Lloyds - Eight cyl. 26.75" x 47.25" 997NHP)
Auxiliary engines: three x 4RH31 giving 600hp total
Screws: Two
Speed: 12 knots

Page added August 18th 2007.

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