The Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 set sail a decade ago, but it never made it to its destination. Then, out of nowhere, it reappeared on the shores of Southeast Asia, found by a group of local fishermen. Authorities were shocked at what they found onboard...
This Had Happened Before
The reappearance of abandoned ships is actually sort of common. One year ago in Japan, a massive wooden ship washed ashore. To bystanders' shock, there was no one on board...
Disturbing Evidence
Examiners climbed on board the wooden ship to see if they could find any signs of life. However, what they did find was so traumatic that most of them have never stepped foot on a boat since. They never thought they'd find somehting this horrific...
A Slew of Dead Bodies
The wooden ship hit the shores of Japan in 2017. Onboard were the remains of eight people. Some had been reduced to skeletons. Later that same year, a similar discovery was made in the Aran Islands near Ireland...
A Remarkable Vessel
The coastguard got a call to check out a strange, spaceship-looking-vessel that had crashed onto the shore of one of the Aran Islands. Eventually, the whole village went down to the shore to see what was going on. The find turned out to be a very mysterious ship...
A Group Effort
The main question everyone was asking was whether or not anyone was on board. The strange, boxy vessel was certainly big enough for someone to live on. This vessel, however, looked like something straight out of Star Wars. The people were intrigued, but also a little nervous...
Intruder Alert?
The coastguard was no stranger to cases like this. They bravely scaled the rocks to get to the mysterious ship below. They were sure someone had to have captained it to the shore, because how else would it have made it this far? However, it was determined the ship was indeed empty, but what they found inside was wild...
A Strange Message
The coastguard unearthed this note while exploring the ship. It was penned by a man named "Rick Small" who wrote that he was donating the boat to homeless youth, so why was it here, and why was it empty?
Odd Artifacts
Turns out, Rick Small was from Canada and had sailed all the way to Ireland. But he didn't want his journey to end there. He wanted to build a boat that would take him across the Atlantic Ocean...
A Tricked-Out Vessel
Small custom-made a ship from processed wood, plastic, and solar panels. Though it was certainly liveable, he faced another question. Would it hold up to a long journey across an ocean?
He Wasn't So Lucky
Rick's ship wasn't up to the task, unfortunately. So, he decided to donate it to homeless youth in Newfoundland. That's where his strange message came in to play: "I, Rick Small, donate this structure to the homeless youth. To give them a better life that Newfoundlanders choose not to do! No Rent, no mortgage, no hydro."
The Answer
The answer to Rick's ship appearing out of nowhere is actually a logical one. It likely just drifted across the sea and happened to wash ashore. This wasn't nearly as intense as the discovery of the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600...
Something Sailing on the Horizon
One morning in August 2018, a group of fishermen was loading up their boat and getting ready for a day out at sea. In Myanmar, fishing is one of the main industries of commerce. However, that particular morning, the fishermen were about to make an incredible discovery...
Taking a Closer Look
The fishermen lived in the Thongwa township of the Yangon region, which was Myanmar's largest city. As they were about to set sail, they saw a nearby cargo ship. They didn't think anything of it at first, but then when they took a closer look, they realized there was something unusual about this sighting...
A Ghosttown
At first, the crew thought the ship was abandoned. It seemed to be floating aimlessly without a captain to navigate. It was moving too fast and was headed right toward the shore. The crew decided to alert the coastguard...
A Shocking Find
Because the ship was dangerously close to shore, the coastguard was able to just climb aboard and explore. They searched the vessel for any clues as to where it come from. Then, someone pointed out the name of the ship...
The Sam Ratulangi PB 1600
When the coastguard realized this was the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600, they were confused. This same ship disappeared a decade ago while out at sea. It had been transporting heavy cargo and was believed to have been caught in a storm. What was happening?
Out of Nowhere
Built in 2001, the ship was used as a cargo hauler until 2009. That year, the ship left port with a full crew and supplies on board. However, the ship never made it to its destination. It was never heard from after that day in 2009 until now...
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Upon inspection, the coastguard determined the ship was completely abandoned. There was not a single crew member on board. Where did they go? And how did the ship get here without a captain? Did the crew abandon the ship for some sinister reason?
No Captain
Everyone inspecting the ghost ship was totally bewildered. This was the first time anything like thi shad happened to them. More importantly, they needed to know how the ship had steered right into the Yangon port without a captain to navigate the turns.
Its Final Destination
At 177 meters long, the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 was a massive ship. A tracking site stated the ship's last known voyage was indeed in 2009. It had been sailing toward Tainan City in Taiwan...
Shocking Disappearance
The ship ship showed no signs of damage. It had just suddenly damaged from radar tracking in the middle of the sea. The coastguard was concerned about the missing crew. There had to be an answer...
A Second Vessel Appears
Suddenly, a second vessel appeared on shore, a tugboat called The Independence. This one did have a crew, and upon coastguard interrogation, they said they had initially been pulling the Sam Ratulangi until they'd lost it. The coastguard seemed to believe them...
Scrapping It For Parts
The inital plan for the Sam Ratulangi was to completely divert from its cargo mission and the crew was going to deliver the vessel to Bangladesh. There, it would be sold to shipbreakers who would sell the pieces for a profit. However, something about this explanation seemed strange...
Nothing Made Sense
The Myanmar Navy was at a loss. Who were these people on the tugboat? How had a major vessel stayed off coastguard radar for nearly a decade?
Ghost Ships are Legendary
Common lore about ghost ships can be traced back to that of the Flying Dutchman. The ship was said to be doomed to sail forever, never being able to return home. The crew must captain it for all of eternity...
What Happens To The Crew?
It's ineveitable that if there is a shipwreck, there will be remains of a dead crew on board. When investigators located the wooden vessel in Japan in 2017, there were 8 dead bodies on board. The only oddity was that the crew of the Sam Ratulangi seemed to have vanish into thin air...
Desperate Times
Usually a crew will die on board due to hunger or dehydration if the vessel hasn't been overtaken by weather, but the case of the Sam Ratulangi just wasn't making sense. Another ship's crew had suffered a fate similar to that of the Sam Ratulangi...
The Case of The Tamaya 1
The Tamaya 1 disappeared in 2016, and was missing from naval radar for three weeks. Then, it suddenly washed ashore in Liberia. When the coastguard explored, they could not find any trace of a crew, living or dead...
Its Last Voyage
The Tenaya 1's final mission was to head for the capital of Senegal, Dakar, which was a ways away from Liberia. Nobody could figure out how it had washed up there when it was destined for a city far north. There were also several lifeboats missing...
An Angry Crew
The coastguard explained that sometimes if the vessel member can't pay the crew, the crew will abandon the ship. However, another theory might explain what really happened to the Sam Ratulangi...
Pirates?
The idea that the Sam Ratulangi had been raided by pirates wasn't ruled out. That's what most likely occured on the Tamaya 1, since maritime pirates were common in that region. They were most often found on the Horn of Africa and near Somalia...
The Case is Still Open
Despite countless theories, there is no definitive answer as to what happened to the Sam Ratulangi. Though there is a ship's worth of ideas, the case remains open. It surely won't be the last ghost ship to drift ashore, though...