Atago Maru was a merchant ship built prior to World War II in Glasgow in 1924 by Lithgows & Sons for Nippon Yusen. One of the first diesel-engined cargo ships in service in Japan, Atago Maru was converted to an oil tanker in 1942. Returning to service in 1943, the ship saw extensive service traveling in convoys during World War II. On 28 November 1944, the vessel was bombed by a United States Army Air Forces bomber while at anchor off Borneo. The shipwreck is a popular diving site in Malaysia. Description As built, Atago Maru was a Japanese cargo ship measured at , long between perpendiculars with a beam of . The ship was powered by twin Sulzer diesel engines and two screws rated at . The vessel had a maximum speed of . In 1942, the vessel was converted to transport oil. Career Atago Maru was built as a general cargo freighter for Nippon Yusen by Lithgows & Sons at Glasgow, Scotland with the yard number 762. The vessel was launched on 17 June 1924 and completed on 28 November later that year. Atago Maru was one of the first diesel-engined ships under Japanese registry. The cargo ship operated between Kobe / Yokohama and the west coast of the United States and Canada, where Atago Maru found great success on the Seattle route. With the outbreak of war between Japan and the Allies in 1941, the cargo ship's cross-Pacific career ended. On 3 August 1942, Atago Maru joined Convoy 425 sailing from Cap St Jacques, Vietnam bound for Mako, Pescadores. On 28 December, Atago Maru began conversion to an emergency oil tanker at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. The ship completed conversion and returned to service on 14 February 1943. On 15 June, Atago Maru joined Convoy 586 from Cap St Jacques and arrived at Singapore on 18 June. The ship returned to Cap St Jacques and joined Convoy 412, departing on 23 July. On 15 August, Atago Maru sailed from Moji, Japan for Takao, Formosa as part of Convoy 187 and arrived on 20 August. In December, the oil tanker headed to the Philippines, sailing from Zamboanga for Jolo and Tawi Tawi on 30 December. In 1944, Atago Maru returned to Japan. The oil tanker departed Moji in Convoy MOTA-07 on 1 March, arriving at Takao on 9 March. On 21 March, the ship sailed from Takao as