As many as 24 ships have resurfaced as a result of the underwater seismic activity arising from Mount Suribachi. For the unversed, Mount Suribachi holds utmost importance, both historical and geographical. It is the volcano over which the Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the United States and Japan during World War II.
Satellite images released by Japan’s All-Nippon News Network show the remnants of the ships that were sunken during the battle, which turned out in favour of the US troops. The hulk of the ships are resting over a surface of volcanic ash. The seabed where the ships were sunken rose due to the highly erratic seismic activity.
In 1945, the US troops captured these ships and used them to form a port at the western part of the Iwo Jima since the island did not have a port facility at that time. Before the takeover of the US on the ships, these transport vessels were used by the Japanese army to form breakwater and protect other ships that carried soldiers and other war materials. The island on which Mount Suribachi is located was known as Brown Beach.
The ghostly ships have come to the surface due to the seismic activity induced by one of the 10 most dangerous volcanoes located in Japan. The country is not new to tremors fluctuating the Richter scale in the range of 6-8. It is because Japan is located on the ‘Ring Of Fire,’ an area in the pacific ocean measuring the highest seismic activity on earth.
The Iwo Jima Island, also known as ‘Sulphur Island,’ has experienced more than 10 major volcanic eruptions, with the last eruption occurring in 1982. The island was a crucial part of WWII, as it witnessed the deadliest battle of the war. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, and only 216 soldiers were captured alive. The United States lost roughly 7,000 soldiers.
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