The Montevideo Maru, which sank during World War II with about 980 Australian troops and civilians aboard, has been discovered 80 years after it was torpedoed by an American submarine. The ship was found 4,000 metres below sea level off the coast of the Philippines with help from advanced technology, including an autonomous underwater vehicle. The discovery marks an “extraordinarily momentous day” for Australians connected with the disaster, said Andrea Williams, a founding member of the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society. Families of the victims have waited for closure for years, and the wreck will remain undisturbed out of respect for them.