In late 1942, a young Chinese mess steward named Pun Lim survived 133 days adrift in the South Atlantic after his merchant ship was torpedoed. Alone on an 8×8-foot life raft with dwindling supplies, he improvised tools, hunted sea life, and endured storms, sharks, and the crushing despair of being passed by a naval patrol craft that refused to rescue him.
Shipwreck and the moment of survival
On November 23, 1942, the SS Benlomond was struck by a German U-boat. Pun Lim made it to a single emergency raft as the ship sank and found himself alone with standard British life-raft provisions: limited water, tins of food, a flashlight, canvas, flares and a few other items. Realizing he had supplies for roughly 50 days while the current would take him 150 days to land, he created a strict routine of exercise, maintenance and rationing to stretch his chances.
Impromptu engineering and food procurement
Denied tools, Pun turned scraps into survival gear: he fashioned a fishhook from a flashlight spring, braided line from hemp rope, and made a blade from a biscuit tin. He used crushed hardtack as bait and learned to catch, gut, and dry fish. Raw fish supplied both protein and modest hydration; rain-catching and careful storage helped extend his water supply when storms allowed.
Shark hunting and an agonizing betrayal
When sharks began circling after a storm, Pun killed a blue shark by hauling it aboard and bludgeoning it with a dented water jug. Drinking the liver blood and eating the meat revived him. On day 74 a U.S. patrol spotted him but turned away—likely deterred by wartime caution—leaving him to continue fighting for his life alone.
Landfall and legacy
After months of improvisation—repairing the raft, fashioning a paddle, and paddling toward a nearby coast—Pun Lim was sighted by Brazilian fishermen and rescued on day 133. He recovered in hospital, later received the British Empire Medal, and his improvised techniques (hooks from springs, rain catchers, shark-liver hydration) influenced naval survival training for years.
Pun Lim’s story is a stark example of resilience under extreme conditions: meticulous planning, inventive problem-solving, and sheer refusal to give up turned near-certain death into a proven manual for survival at sea.
