Mystery surrounds a ghost ship found in the Gulf of Thailand, with no origin, crew, or cargo on board. The only identification? It’s labeled ‘Jin Shui Yuan 2,’ written in Chinese characters. When being towed ashore, rough seas sank the ghost ship.
Late last week, Chevron’s offshore oil rig workers found a ghost ship measuring 262 ft (80 m), abandoned in the southern waters of the Gulf of Thailand. The staff alerted local authorities, who checked the vessel to find out there were no identifying documents, crew, or cargo on board. The only thing they noticed about it was its label, Jin Shui Yuan 2.
The ship, which is believed to be of Chinese origin, was spotted floating around a hundred nautical miles from the mouth of Songkhla Lak, Thailand.
Thai navy proceeded to try and tow it ashore on Sunday, January 9, but due to rough seas and strong winds, the ghost ship sank near Sichon District in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, in the south of Thailand.
After it sank, local officials have been working alongside the marine to keep the oil leak from the ghost ship, which covers more than half a mile (one kilometer), from harming the environment around it, with buoys placed around the place where the ship sank.
When they checked it, authorities claimed the ship’s bridge looked like it had been left in a hurry. The stairway on the shipwreck that leads to the downstairs gallery seems to suggest it hadn’t been used in a while.
But one expert talked to the Thai media, claiming that the ship might have been an illegal oil tanker, The Thaiger suggests. The vessel, which sustained some damage, could have been operating for a while without proper maintenance, and, if it were operating as an illegal oil tanker, it couldn’t have docked for repairs.
There were no reports of pirates in the area, nor did the name of the ship appear in the systems. Now the owner has a short fifteen-day window to reclaim the vessel.
The ship, which is believed to be of Chinese origin, was spotted floating around a hundred nautical miles from the mouth of Songkhla Lak, Thailand.
Thai navy proceeded to try and tow it ashore on Sunday, January 9, but due to rough seas and strong winds, the ghost ship sank near Sichon District in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, in the south of Thailand.
After it sank, local officials have been working alongside the marine to keep the oil leak from the ghost ship, which covers more than half a mile (one kilometer), from harming the environment around it, with buoys placed around the place where the ship sank.
When they checked it, authorities claimed the ship’s bridge looked like it had been left in a hurry. The stairway on the shipwreck that leads to the downstairs gallery seems to suggest it hadn’t been used in a while.
But one expert talked to the Thai media, claiming that the ship might have been an illegal oil tanker, The Thaiger suggests. The vessel, which sustained some damage, could have been operating for a while without proper maintenance, and, if it were operating as an illegal oil tanker, it couldn’t have docked for repairs.
There were no reports of pirates in the area, nor did the name of the ship appear in the systems. Now the owner has a short fifteen-day window to reclaim the vessel.