The Tama Maru No. 2 was a 264 gross ton whaler built by Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Kobe for Taiyo Hogei Kabushiki Kaisha in 1936. She was requisitioned in 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and converted into a minesweeper. On 10 March 1942, during the invasion of Lae-Salamaua, Tama Maru No. 2 was damaged by SBD’s from the United States Navy aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown off Lae, New Guinea.