ghost ship

16 Stories

'Dark Fishing Fleets' Blamed for Rise in Ghost Ships

Chinese vessels are forcing North Koreans to fish elsewhere, researchers say

(Newser) - "Ghost ships" carrying the bodies—or skeletons—of North Korean fishermen have been washing up in Japan for years, but there was a massive increase after 2017. A new study links the rise to "dark fishing fleets" of Chinese vessels in North Korean waters in violation of United...

One Mystery Persists About Ireland's Ghost Ship
Ireland Has a Problematic
Mystery on Its Hands
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Ireland Has a Problematic Mystery on Its Hands

It still doesn't know who owns the MV Alta

(Newser) - Who's the captain of the ghost ship that washed up near Ballycotton, Ireland, in February after more than a year of sailing empty in the Atlantic? It's still a giant question mark, and that's problematic for Ireland. As a rep for the country's revenue commissioners tells...

Tracking the Strange 18-Month Journey of a Ghost Ship
It Was Bound for Haiti,
Turned Into a Ghost Ship
longform

It Was Bound for Haiti, Turned Into a Ghost Ship

'Wired' takes a look at the MV Alta

(Newser) - The MV Alta washed up on an Irish shore in February after some 18 months adrift at sea. In a piece for Wired , Matt Burgess explains that the category of people to have seen the ghost ship over that time is a remarkably narrow one: "It was only spotted...

For More Than a Year, This 'Ghost Ship' Traveled the World

The MV Alta's journey has finally ended, in Ireland

(Newser) - A "ghost ship" has finally struck land after more than a year traveling the world, from the Americas to Africa and Europe, without a crew. The MV Alta cargo vessel disabled some 1,380 miles southeast of Bermuda while traveling from Greece to Haiti in September 2018. The crew...

'Ghost Ship' Comes Ashore Carrying Human Heads

Japanese officials suspect they know where it came from

(Newser) - A shipwreck on the coast of Japan carried grisly cargo: five human bodies and two human heads, Sky News reports. Police apparently found the boat Saturday on Sado Island, about 31 miles northwest of the mainland, and are investigating the cause of death. "Five of the bodies were identified...

Skeletons Found in 'Ghost Boats' Washed Up in Japan

Vessels are believed to be from N. Korea

(Newser) - Scores of dilapidated wooden boats believed to be from North Korea have washed ashore in northern Japan in a seasonal influx. The coast guard said Monday that 95 rickety boats, some carrying skeletonized bodies, have arrived so far this year, a pace that is likely to exceed last year's...

'Ghost Ship' Found Drifting Near Myanmar Identified

Freighter was abandoned as it was being towed to a ship-breaking factory

(Newser) - An empty "ghost ship" was found drifting near Myanmar's Yangon region last week, and authorities have now solved the mystery. The rusty freighter was being towed to a ship-breaking factory in Bangladesh, but the tugboat crew got caught in bad weather and abandoned it after several cables securing...

More Bodies Wash Up in Japan
More Bodies Wash Up in Japan

More Bodies Wash Up in Japan

Boat containing remains of 7 men found, with possible 8th body

(Newser) - There were clues as to the men's origins: a cigarette package bearing Korean words, a badge bearing the likenesses of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The signs point to North Korea, and to some tragedy at sea. Japanese police say the wooden boat found capsized and washed...

Aboard 'Ghost Ship' Found in Japan: Bodies Reduced to Bone

It's believed to have come from North Korea

(Newser) - Just days ago, a boat washed ashore in northern Japan . Aboard were eight men who said they were from North Korea. Now, another boat has been found just 45 miles north of the first, and it also held eight—except all are dead. The 23-foot wooden "ghost ship" was...

Ghost Ship Found in Liberia Was Gutted by Fire

Liberian government didn't realize the tanker was there for 2 days

(Newser) - On April 22, a 210-foot oil tanker signaled its position off the west coast of Africa, not far from its destination of Senegal. What transpired over the next two weeks is shrouded in mystery. The "ghost ship" washed ashore in Robertsport, Liberia, far from the intended port of Dakar,...

Mysterious, Abandoned Oil Tanker Washes Up on Beach

No one knows where its crew is

(Newser) - A 210-foot-long oil tanker washed up on the shores of Africa this week; its crew was nowhere to be found. The Guardian reports the abandoned ship, the Tamaya 1, is now the subject of an investigation to find out what happened. The tanker, registered in Panama, was supposed to be...

UK Fears Approach of Rat-Infested 'Ghost Ship'
UK Fears Approach of
Rat-Infested 'Ghost Ship'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

UK Fears Approach of Rat-Infested 'Ghost Ship'

Though Lyubov Orlova hasn't been heard from since March

(Newser) - The Russian "ghost ship" that was last heard from in March has all but vanished—but a flurry of reports now have it on a potential collision-course with Britain's coast, and packed with rats. Experts are warning that the Lyubov Orlova could be headed that way in the...

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Vanishes
 Russian 'Ghost Ship' Vanishes 

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Vanishes

Lyubov Orlova hasn't been heard from since March 12

(Newser) - Months after a Russian "ghost ship" turned up adrift off the Irish coast , she's gone missing again. The Lyubov Orlova's tow line broke back in January, as the cruise ship was being hauled from Canada to the Dominican Republic as scrap. The ship, empty except for an...

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Turns Up Off Irish Coast

It's an environmental danger: French group

(Newser) - An empty Russian cruise ship lost at sea for weeks has turned up some 1,300 nautical miles off Ireland's west coast, reports AFP via PhysOrg. The Lyubov Orlova was being towed from Canada to the Dominican Republic when a tug line broke in late January, setting it adrift....

US Sinks Tsunami Ghost Ship
 US Sinks Tsunami Ghost Ship 

US Sinks Tsunami Ghost Ship

Ship may hold more than 2K gallons of diesel

(Newser) - A Japanese derelict that's been aimlessly roaming the ocean since last year's tsunami has been sent to Davy Jones' Locker at last. A US Coast Guard cutter opened fire on the Ryou-Un Maru off the coast of Alaska yesterday with high explosive ammunition, setting it on fire and...

'Ghost Ship' a Case of Intrigue on High Seas

Charter found near Cuba, crew missing; 2 survivors being held

(Newser) - The sea is telling no secrets about an abandoned charter boat found 30 miles north of Cuba this week, missing the young couple who owned it and two crewmembers. But Newsweek reports that the two men who chartered the boat, found floating miles away in its life raft, are failing...

16 Stories