Myanmar navy: Ghost ship was being towed by Indonesia vessel
NAYPYIDAW: A stranded vessel empty of crew and goods that was found in Myanmar’s waters this week was earlier being towed by a ship with 13 Indonesians before it became unmoored, the Myanmar Navy said.
Fishermen came across the rusted and empty vessel, bearing the name Sam Rataulangi PB 1600, drifting in the Gulf of Martaban, about 11km off the coast of Myanmar’s commercial capital.
Navy personnel boarded the vessel to investigate the situation this week, and shed light on their search in a post on its Facebook page on Friday.
“The ship could have been towed by another ship after two cables... were found at its head,” the post said.
The navy’s coastal radar records showed the movement of two ships last Sunday and Monday in the Yangon and Sittaung rivers.
Based on these findings, the navy scoured the waters for a second ship and found the Independence vessel, carrying 13 Indonesian crew members, about 80km from Yangon’s shores.
After questioning the crew members, the navy discovered that the Independence departed Aug 13 from Jakarta towing the old vessel bound for a shipbreaking factory in Bangladesh.
“They faced bad weather when they arrived south of Yangon River,” the navy said. “The cables attached to the ship broke, and the ship was floating along with the tide and it was difficult to continue its journey.”
Old and unseaworthy vessels are often towed to Bangladesh’s Chittagong province, which houses a thriving and controversial ship-breaking industry.
According to the Marine Traffic website, which lists the movements of ships around the globe, the vessel was built in 2001.
The navy said the investigation is ongoing.