The Dutch merchant ship Bantam was unloading at the Oro Bay wharf on March 28 when 18 bombers and 40 fighters struck the port. Her escort, Bowen, was on antisubmarine patrol. Bantam was hit three times and was beached in a badly damaged state and later declared a loss. In the same raid the US Army bareboat chartered ship Masaya, an ex-World War I destroyer and banana boat converted as a fast transport, was hit and sunk 5 miles (8.0 km; 4.3 nmi) to the east.
