An Abandoned Ghost Ship Reappears After A Decade Lost At Sea, Find Out What Happened
Going out to sea can always be an adventure, because anything can mysteriously appear out of the water. This was certainly true for a particular group of fishermen off the coast of East Asia.
While sailing the high seas, they were frozen in their tracks after they noticed a dark figure approaching them. As the figure got closer, they knew it was time to investigate. Keep reading to discover what they found, its dark past, and why the authorities needed to get involved.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
A group of fishermen were about to get the experience of a lifetime. On August 30, 2018, they were working in the Yangon Region of the southeastern Asian country of Myanmar, but were quickly disrupted.
There was something they couldn't quite recognize coming towards them. The shape of the dark figure was something they hadn't ever seen before and they thought it might be time to contact the local authorities. The fishermen sprung into action to get a better look.
Calling Out For Help
The fishermen needed to get as many people as possible involved in order for them to protect themselves and those around them. They called the Coast Guard, Navy, and police and told them what was going on.
It didn't take long for the officials to arrive on the scene to start the investigation. They figured the figure was something foreign, but weren't sure how much of a threat it would be to the fishermen and other people by the water.
Things Start Getting Clearer
When the authorities arrived, they soon realized that the dark figure was some kind of ghost ship. According to Marine Insight, "Ghost ships are those sea going vessels which have been associated with some kind of supernatural activity or unexplained power."
The authorities had requested that the ship give off a signal that someone was there, but nothing happened. This ghost ship had been abandoned with no apparent sign of passengers or any other forms of life onboard.
The Investigation Continues
The Burmese authorities started to get closer to the ghost ship in order to get more answers as to why it had shown up out of nowhere. They noticed that it hit a sandbar, which left it frozen in the water.
Now, it was time for them to climb aboard to see if there was a chance of life there. Each team looked around, but couldn't find anyone there. They also noticed that the ship had never made a distress call from crew members looking for help.
A New Clue
The abandoned ghost ship stayed stuck on the sandbar as the different teams of authorities kept investigating its mysterious appearance. Finally, someone noticed a huge clue written on the side of the ship.
They saw the words "Sam Ratulangi PB 1600" written in large white letters and realized they could use that clue to look up where this ship might have come from. The vessel was starting to decay, so they weren't quite sure how old it was.
Some Theories Started To Form
Now, the team of investigators had the name "Sam Ratulangi PB 1600" to help them come up with theories about how the ghost ship made its way to Myanmar. Some of the authorities thought it could have run off course from a storm, while others thought there could be more sinister reasons it was abandoned.
News of the ghost ship spread across the area. Its arrival started to become a bigger issue than expected, so the Myanmar Navy was drafted for more assistance.
The Navy Uncovers More Evidence
The Myanmar Navy had arrived on the scene ready to help local authorities with gathering more evidence from the ghost ship. They had more equipment that could give them a better look at what was onboard.
As they were taking inventory, they saw that the ship was covered in a lot of rust and rot. This was one of the reasons why it wasn't operational anymore, but they believed that wasn't the reason why the ship was abandoned.
Still Hoping To Find More Clues
This lengthy investigation didn't seem to have an end in sight. The authorities were still hoping they would be able to find some more clues as to why the Sam Ratulangi had appeared out of nowhere.
During an interview with The Myanmar Times, a Yangon official named U Ne Win explained the teams' findings and their desire to carry on with the investigation. "No crew or cargo was found on the ship. It was quite puzzling how such a big ship turned up in our waters," said Win.
The Ghost Ship's Dark Past
After multiple teams had searched the ship, they still couldn't find any clues as to where the crew or other passengers had gone. It was time to do a deep dive into the ship's origin.
It didn't take too long for them to discover that this 580-foot container ship was built in 2001 in Indonesia. The Sam Ratulangi made its first voyage that same year by transporting cargo to many different countries across the world.
The Ship's Journeys Had To End
At first, this massive ship seemed like it would be capable of making thousands of journeys during its lifetime, but that was about to change. After about eight years, the ship made its last voyage.
Authorities thought it could have been drifting in the ocean for the last nine years, so they looked through the ship's logs to see the correct documentation. The Burmese authorities discovered that the ship was registered in Indonesia and the last log stated it was docked in Taiwan in 2009.
Lost In Time
Since the ship's last log was in 2009, that meant there had been nine years of not knowing its whereabouts. Now was the time to figure out where it had been all these years.
It was possible that the ghost ship had been sailing the high seas without any documentation or any passengers onboard, but there seemed like there was more to the story. In order for the authorities to investigate further, they needed to understand the geography of southeast Asia.
Retracing The Ship's Path
Since there wasn't anyone steering the ship, it would likely have some issues while out on the open ocean. The Burmese coastline is no place for an empty container ship.
Sailing through the Sittaung River with strong currents and shallow water caused it to rot and rust. It's nearly impossible for a ship that size to make it through unscathed. That 260-mile long river is only meant for small vessels that transport timber.
Looking For The Missing Crew
One of the biggest questions on everyone's minds was where the crew aboard the Sam Ratulangi had gone. It seemed impossible that a ship this size would be out at sea alone. There didn't seem to be any answers as to where the people were.
Suddenly, as some of the investigators were looking at the ship, they noticed something that was slightly out of place. Only someone who's had lots of experience with ships would have noticed this.
There Was A Major Revelation
Out of the corner of one of the authority's eyes, they noticed two cables at the front of the ship. This led them to do some more investigating.
The Burmese police kept looking through the logs to understand what happened to the ship after its last voyage in Taiwan nine years prior. As they started getting deeper into the investigation, they noticed something else that was odd. It seemed that the Sam Ratulangi wasn't the only ship that had suddenly washed ashore in Myanmar.
There Was Another Vessel
It turns out that the ghost ship wasn't alone. The two cables that one of the investigators found was actually a huge clue. Those cables were attached to a small tugboat called the Independence.
The Independence had been tugging the Sam Ratulangi after it went missing sometime in 2009, but now it seemed to have disappeared. The Burmese Navy set out to find any remains of the Independence in order to get some more information on the missing crew aboard the ghost ship.
Locating The Independence
The Burmese authorities knew to look along the coastline to have a better chance of finding the Independence. It didn't take too long for them to find it located about 50 miles away from where the Sam Ratulangi washed ashore.
It just so happened that there was a crew of about 13 people onboard, so the authorities were now finally able to get answers to their long-awaited questions. The missing details of the ghost ship were about to be filled in.
More Questions Came Up
There was no time to waste. The Burmese authorities got straight to the point and questioned the crew aboard the Independence about its history and how it was connected to the ghost ship. There turned out to be a pretty strong connection between the two vessels.
The crew informed the authorities that they were there when the Independence was tugging the Sam Ratulangi. There had been some turbulent weather, which caused them to change their course.
Getting The Story Straight
It was clear that the crew of the Independence had been tugging the Sam Ratulangi before it appeared on the sandbanks in Myanmar. The crew was actually on their way to a factory in Bangladesh to unload and dismantle some cargo.
The crew had to separate from the ship when the weather got bad. The Sam Ratulangi drifted to the Bay of Bengal, which is in between Bangladesh and Myanmar. That still didn't answer the question of where the crew of the container ship was, though.
Authorities Kept Searching For The Ghost Ship's Crew
There was nothing that was going to stop the Burmese authorities from locating the crew that was supposedly aboard the ghost ship while it was being tugged by the Independence. It was assumed that they had abandoned the ship after the weather got too dangerous.
The longer the investigation went on, the more questions the authorities started to have. While they weren't getting any further with finding the missing crew, there were some other details they were able to uncover.
Inside The Ghost Ship
While investigators found rot and rust on the outside of the ship, the inside was quite different. After having no maintenance whatsoever after being abandoned, the interior seemed to be in great working condition.
This raised a major question for the investigators, which led to them to wonder what the ship was doing with the Independence. Once the Sam Ratulangi arrived in the Bangladesh factory, it was going to be dismantled and demolished. This didn't make sense because the ship's insides were working fine.
What's Wrong With The Ship?
Container ships are meant to last a long time. The Sam Ratulangi was built in 2001 and was expected to last about 25 to 30 years. There was a plan to dismantle it, but it was only around 17-years-old.
The two cables that were found by the investigators meant that there were multiple attempts made by the Independence to have it towed away. This didn't make sense to the authorities because of the ship's good condition and young age.
There Might Have Been Other Motives
Taking a ship that's in good working condition to get demolished seemed counterintuitive to the investigators. Those who were planning to dismantle the vessel were actually going to sell it to a junkyard for spare parts.
This meant that there was a high chance that the crew onboard the Independence might have had some other motives up their sleeves. Certainly, money was playing an important role as to why the Sam Ratulangi was going to be destroyed.
Money Was The Driving Force
Investigators were finally able to narrow down the reason why the Independence was towing the Sam Ratulangi. The Independence's crew were looking for some sort of financial reward as they dragged the ship to the factory in Bangladesh.
No one had claimed the ship as their own, so it was a free-for-all. Dismantling a ship is a lengthy process and there aren't really any regulations on how to safely accomplish it. The factory workers could have been seriously injured trying to take apart a container vessel of that size.
Where Is The Ship Now?
The Burmese authorities were relieved to finally have some answers regarding the Sam Ratulangi. Luckily, the ship will stay safe in the hands of the Myanmar Navy, but the investigation isn't close to being over.
Authorities are still looking into the details regarding the ghost ship's disappearance and what it had been doing for the last decade or so. They're also trying to get more information about the abandoned crew, missing cargo, and the ship's history. Perhaps we'll get the answers someday.
