Japan mystery as ghost ships rise to the surface off island following volcanic activity

 

The emerging hulks are the remains of the 24 Japanese transport vessels captured by the US Navy in the spring of 1945 at the end of World War 2 and deliberately scuttled off the western coast of the island to form a port. During that time, the island had no serviceable port facilities, so the sunken vessels were used as a breakwater to protect others unloading men and supplies for troops during the battles with the Japanese. Their blueprint had been to form an artificial naval base to support a huge US military base on the island prior to the assault on mainland Japan.