YUSOSEN!

(1TM Standard Merchant Tanker )

IJN BOKUEI MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement

© 2009-2020 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

Revision 2

21 June 1943:
Yokohama. Laid down at Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. Yokohama Zosensho as a 5,136 ton 1TM Wartime Standard Merchant Tanker for Nitto Kisen K. K.

28 September 1943:
Launched and named BOKUEI MARU.

31 October 1943:
Completed and registered at Tokyo. Her call sign is JGHT. Requisitioned by the IJN the same day.

18 November 1943:
Listed as the 28th Naval (AO) oil transport ship.

4 December 1943:
Departs Sasebo for Singapore.

5 December 1943:
BOKUEI MARU joins the second echelon of convoy HI-23 consisting of tankers ITSUKUSHIMA, TATEKAWA MARUs and naval tankers SUNOSAKI and OSE.

7 December 1943:
Near Takao, Formosa (now Kaoshiung, Taiwan). BOKUEI MARU shifts to the first echelon of convoy HI-23 consisting of tankers OMUROSAN, ICHIU, RYUEI, ASASHIO MARU, fleet tanker TAKASAKI and transports NOSHIRO and AKI MARU escorted by destroyer NAMIKAZE from Moji. Tankers GOYO and ICHIYO MARUs join at Takao. Three unknown ships are detached. The escort is also augmented by kaibokan KANJU from Takao.

10 December 1943:
Arrives at St Jacques, French Indochina (now Vung Tau, Vietnam). The convoy is dissolved. BOKUEI MARU probably departs for Singapore that same day.

12 December 1943:
Arrives at Singapore.

19 December 1943:
At 1200, BOKUEI MARU departs Singapore for Moji in convoy HI-24 consisting of passenger/cargo ships ASAHI, ASAHISAN and TERUKUNI MARUs, cargo liner ARABIA MARU and oilers RYUEI, GOYO and ASASHIO MARUs escorted by kaibokan KANJU.

28 December 1943:
Arrives at Takao. RYUEI, GOYO and ASAHISAN MARUs are detached.

29 December 1943:
Departs Takao for Moji in convoy HI-24.

E.30 December 1943:
TERUKUNI MARU joins convoy from Kirun, Formosa (now Keelung, Taiwan).

1 January 1944:
Registered in the IJN and attached to the Yokosuka Naval district as an auxiliary transport ship (oil supply) in (Otsu) Category under internal order No. 16. [1]

4 January 1944:
ASAHI MARU is detached for Sasebo and arrives there later that day.

W of Moji. BOKUEI MARU collides with TERUKUNI MARU and sinks at 34-04N, 130-32E. Later that day, the rest of the convoy arrives at Moji. Only one crewman is KIA.

31 March 1944:
Removed from the Navy List under internal order No. 508.

Authors Notes:[1] There were two categories of Yusosen. (Ko) category with an IJN Captain as supervisor aboard and (Otsu) category without.

Thanks to Gilbert Casse of France and Berend van der Wal of Netherlands. Thanks also go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.

Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

Back to the Oilers Page