Japanese Submarine I-124 - Attempted Salvage

Attempted Salvage

The submarine, the fourth Japanese submarine lost in action in World War II and the most accessible of the seagoing types sunk to that time, has been surrounded in controversy since it was lost. In World War II there were claims that two submarines had been lost in the attack on Darwin, that its crew remained alive for some time and that divers heard crew movement inside the hull. Later it was reported by both Japanese and American sources that "the I 124 with her Division Commander Keiyu Endo, embarked, sank with all those on board in water only forty feet deep. US Navy divers were sent down and entered the submarine, and removed naval code books, a godsend for the Navy codebreakers at Pearl Harbor".

Though relatives of the crew attempted to organise the recovery of the crew's remains for cremation in accordance with Japanese custom, I-124 was left undisturbed until 1972, when its location was rediscovered following a six-week search. Trade Winds Ltd. and Lincoln Ltd. Salvage Company (T&L Salvage) of the New Hebrides purchased the salvage rights for the submarine from the Australian government, which was found to be mostly intact in 48 metres (157 ft) of water with several holes near the conning tower and at least one 'blown' hatch, and believed to carry large quantities of mercury, and offered to sell the wreck and any remains of its personnel to the Japanese government for A$2.5 million. The Japanese Consul-General in Australia advised T&L Salvage that any salvage required Japanese governmental approval, which it was not willing to give as it considered the site a war grave, and the Australian government found that it legally held no control over the wrecked submarine. The matter was further complicated by infighting within the salvage company, which led to a split in April 1973 when one of the salvors threatened to drop explosives on the submarine if a Japanese decision was slow in forthcoming. The controversy gained much media attention,