Ninemsn, the online presence of the National 9 News, today features coverage of the Papua New Guinea Association’s appeal to the Australian Prime Minister to instigate a search for the wreck of the Montevideo Maru.

The Papua New Guinea Association of Australia has urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to commit the government to a search for the sunken warship Montevideo Maru and the 1053 men she carried.

The sinking of the Japanese war vessel by an American submarine off the Philippines coast in 1942 remains Australia's worst maritime disaster.

"The sinking of the Montevideo Maru has special relevance for anyone associated with Papua New Guinea,” PNGAA President Keith Jackson said.

"Most of the 208 civilians who died were Australians who considered the Territory of New Guinea ... to be their home.

“The PNGAA has asked Mr Rudd to financially support the search for the Montevideo Maru, declare the site of the sinking a Commonwealth War Grave and erect a monument at an appropriate place on the Philippines coast as a permanent memorial."

You can read the full article here