From the Feb. 9, 2017, Gizmodo "World War II Shipwrecks Are Vanishing at a Disturbing Rate" by George Dvorsky.
Last year, the Netherlands confirmed that two of its ships lost in the war have disappeared from the bottom of the Java Sea as a result of illegal salvaging. Now, the same thing has happened to three Japanese shipwrecks off Borneo.
The Kokusei Maru, Higane Maru and Hiyori Maru, called the Usukan Bay Wrecks and also the "Rice Bowl Wrecks" for their cargoes. All are located within a kilometer of one another. They were torpedoed by U.S. forces off the coast of Borneo in 1944.
The recovered materials from the ships are worth a lot of money. Their propellers, made of phosphor bronze can bring $2,500 a ton.
It is estimated that two of the ships are 98-99% gone and the other one is just a pile of metal.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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