The mystery of an empty rusting cargo ship found off the Myanmar coast has been solved after 2 days since it was first spotted. But tracing its data the last journey this ship took was in the year 2009. The cargo vessel is named 'Sam Ratulangi PB 1600' was found by local fishermen off the coast of Myanmar, bearing the flag of Indonesia. Authorities have found it was on its way to a ship-breaking factory in Bangladesh but a bad weather spell forced the crew to abandon it in the sea. Watch Video: Russian Cargo Ship MS-09 Arrives at International Space Station, Sets New Record For Fastest Trip.
There were cables attached to this ship which revealed it was towed by a tugboat. Navy personnel had not found any crew members or supplies on board. According to the Marine Traffic website, which lists the movements of ships around the globe, it was a vessel built in 2001 and had a deadweight of 26,500 tonnes. It was last seen off the coast of Taiwan in 2009, since then it was thought to be lost. So its sudden reappearance in the Indian Ocean was speculated.
The Ghost Ship found off Myanmar's coast:
Naturally to see such cargo ship floating in the waters with no one had to be inspected. Navy authorities found the tugboat attached to it, about 80 kilometers away, and had 13 members on board. According to the information given by these crew members, the ship had left Jakarta on August 13. But a bad weather spell forced them to cut off the cables on August 26. The current in the waters floated it near the coast of Myanmar, which was spotted by local fishermen.
The ship was headed to a factory in Bangladesh, where most ships return after they are utilised fully and cannot be sailed anymore. But it is still not known by the members of the tugboat did not make efforts to find the cargo that they left along the way. The investigations in that matter are still going on. This is the first time an abandoned ship was reported in Myanmar’s waters.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2018 06:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).