For nearly a decade, this ship was assumed to be lost at sea—but when it washed up on the shores of Southeast Asia, authorities were baffled by what they found onboard...
In the Distance
On August 27, 2018, fishermen left their homes, headed for the coast to get started on the day's work. At first, it just seemed like another day in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. That is—until the fishermen noticed something strange in the water.
What's Over There?
The fishermen lived in Thongwa township of the Yangon region, Myanmar's largest city. As they got ready to undock their boats and head off to work, they saw a cargo ship floating nearby. This wasn't particularly unusual since cargo ships frequented the area, but the men quickly realized that something about the ship was off...
Eerie Ship
The boat was aimlessly careening through the water. Although it looked as though the ship was abandoned, it was rapidly approaching the shore, as though someone was directing the vessel toward land. The fishermen were alarmed by the ship's path. They decided to alert the coastguard...
Chilling Discovery
The ship was close enough to shore that the first responders from the coastguard were able to climb on board. They wanted to search the vessel for any irregularities. That's when somebody pointed out the name of the ship...
Sam Ratulangi PB 1600
The coastguard learned that the ship was called the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600. They were totally bewildered. Years ago, this very ship vanished without a trace. The ship had been transporting heavy cargo between destinations. How was this possible?
Up and Gone
The ship had been constructed in 2001, and it was used for cargo transport for eight years until 2009. That was the year the ship had left port with a full crew on board. The Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 was never seen or heard from again... until now.
Long Forgotten
The ship was totally empty and abandoned. The coastguard couldn't find a single crew member on board. Where could they have gone? Had they simply left without telling anyone or was the reason much more sinister?
Ghostly Captain
The fishermen and coastguard alike were totally mystified. They had never seen anything like this before. How had the ship been steered directly into the Yangon port if there was no one behind the wheel?
Last Known Journey
The Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 was an enormous boat, clocking in at 177 meters long, or 580 feet. The ship-tracking site Marine Traffic states that the ship's last known voyage took place in 2009. The Sam Ratulangi had been sailing toward Tainan City, a municipality of Taiwan...
Suddenly Disappeared
The ship was built poorly and showed signs of severe damage. The coastguard found out that it had suddenly vanished from radar tracking in the middle of its journey. They were deeply concerned about the missing crew. Where could they have gone?
Not the Only One
It turns out that the sudden reappearance of abandoned ships is not as uncommon as one might think. The Sam Ratulangi was only one of many missing ships to have been located in recent years. Only a year ago in Japan, an enormous wooden ship washed up on the shore. Not a single living soul was found on board...
What They Found Was Disturbing
When officials climbed on board to examine the vessel, they found something inside that chilled them to the bone. They never expected to uncover something so gruesome...
Dead Bodies
The ship washed up on the coast of Japan in 2017. Inside the ship, authorities found the remains of eight people. Some had been reduced to skeletons. Then, in March of 2018, Florida became the site of what would later be deemed the "holy grail" of shipwrecks...
Extraordinary Discovery
A mother and son walking along a Florida beach when they came across the wreckage of a shipwreck that took place in the 1700s. It was perfectly preserved and covered in Roman numeral markings. In 2017, another shipwreck was uncovered, but this one contained something no one had ever seen before...
Mannequin Overboard
This "ghost ship" was called the Cuki, a 45-foot sailboat with a bizarre story. At first, people didn't know what to think. Was anyone on board? And, more importantly, why was the boat filled with mannequins?
Strange Findings
The ship contained two mannequins, a velvet rose, and a sign that said, "The beatings will continue until morale improves." Even stranger, this ghost ship somehow managed to survive Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 natural disaster. Eerily enough, the crew was nowhere to be found...
Myanmar Ship
Meanwhile, back in Myanmar, officials were puzzled. This was the first-ever reported instance of an abandoned ship appearing in the waters of Myanmar. The city had never seen anything like it. Authorities were determined to get to the bottom of it...
A Second Vessel
The Myanmar Navy decided to intervene to figure out the truth behind this mysterious "ghost ship." The navy said it had tracked two unknown ships on the radar. While one was believed to be the missing Sam Ratulangi, the other ship was an unknown variable. Who was on board the other ship?
The Independence
The Myanmar Navy realized that the second ship was a small tugboat. The tugboat had been attached to the Sam Ratulangi. It was called the Independence, and it had something to do with the mysterious reappearance of the Sam Ratulangi...
Finding the Crew
Even though the Sam Ratulangi was empty, the Independence had 13 crew members onboard the ship. Once it was discovered that they had accessed the Sam Ratulangi, the crew of the ship was questioned by authorities.
Solving One Part of the Puzzle
Upon interrogation, the crew revealed that they had been steering the Sam Ratulangi. However, they lost the ship in the ocean due to inclement weather. What were they doing with the ship in the first place?
Salvaging It For Parts
The crew of the Independence was planning to deliver the vessel to Bangladesh, where it would be sold to shipbreakers who would then dismantle it for money. However, when the navy took a closer look, they realized that the Sam Ratulangi might have been hauled by a different tugboat altogether...
Searching for Answers
The Myanmar Navy was desperate for answers. How had the ship somehow stayed off the radar for nearly a decade? What could have happened to the crew in that period of time?
Legend of the Ghost Ship
The idea of a "ghost ship" was made notorious by the tale of the Flying Dutchman. This ship was said to be doomed to sail the seas forever, never being able to return to port. The crew must operate it for all eternity...
The Crew's Fate
Sadly, coming across the remains of the crew on board a shipwreck is not an infrequent occurrence. When investigators located the destroyed vessel that washed up on the coast of Japan in 2017, they located 8 dead bodies. However, oddly enough, it looked like the crew of the Sam Ratulangi had disappeared into thin air...
Final Resort
When the crew of a ship passes away, it usually is related to hunger and desperation, but the Sam Ratulangi was a strange exception. Another ship's crew had suffered a fate similar to that of the Sam Ratulangi...
The Tamaya 1
In 2016, a ship called the Tamaya 1 disappeared off the radar for three whole weeks. Suddenly, it washed up on the shore of a Liberian beach. When the ship was finally discovered, they were unable to locate any crew members, living or dead...
Final Journey
When the Tamaya 1 left port, it was bound for the capital of Senegal, Dakar, quite far north of Liberia. Nobody could understand how or why the ship had washed up in Liberia. It was also evident that several lifeboats were missing...
No Work, No Pay
A port authority suggested one possibility—perhaps the owner of the vessel was unable to pay the crew, resulting in them abandoning the ship. However, another theory might explain what really happened to the Sam Ratulangi...
Pirate Raid
The possibility of a pirate raid on the Sam Ratulangi has not been ruled out by investigators. This is likely what occurred on the Tamaya 1, since maritime pirates were a common issue for the region, especially in the Horn of Africa and the region of Somalia...
Searching for Answers
Regardless of what people may speculate, there's no way of knowing what really happened to the Sam Ratulangi and its missing crew. The investigation will continue on...