- Joined
- Nov 25, 2020
- Messages
- 959
- Reaction score
- 2,291
- Points
- 133
- Age
- 52
- Location
- Nottinghamshire, UK
Many of us know the story of Mary Celeste and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of her crew. Over the years there have been many other cases of people going missing inexplicably at sea. These are just some examples that have happened more recently.....
The Kaz-II
On the 15th of April 2007, three friends (Derek Batten, Peter Tunstead and James Tunstead) set out on a pleasure cruise off the coast of Australia. On 18 April, a helicopter reported spotting Kaz II adrift in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef and two days later, she was found by the Coast Guard drifting with no sign of life. On inspection, the GPS and radio were found to be functioning as normal, all the life jackets were stowed on board, there was laundry hanging out to dry, and a meal had been laid out on the dining table. In a spooky twist, investigators also found video footage that the three men took of themselves shortly before they disappeared, with everything appearing normal.
The official report suggested that all three men had somehow accidentally fallen overboard within moments of each other, and no better explanation has ever been brought forward.
The High Aim 6
In October 2002, a ship called the High Aim 6 left a port in Taiwan on a seemingly normal voyage. Months later she was found adrift and crew-less. Everything seemed normal on board, with no signs of a strugle or looting. A breakthrough came when authorities found that the chief engineer's mobile phone was still active, and being used, in Indonesia. This trail led them to one crew member who claimed that there had been some kind of mutiny and the captain had in fact been killed.
He didn't share any more details, and no explanation has ever been given for what happened to the mutineers.
The Jian Seng
The Jian Seng was a vessel found floating in Australian waters in 2006.
Investigators knew that it was a tanker, but apart from that, she had no name or identification marks. The only cargo found aboard was rice. Some papers discovered suggested the ship's name was Jian Seng, but its place of origin was a complete mystery. To add further to the puzzle, there were no signs of distress or illegal activities found, potentially ruling out a vessel used for trafficking or drug smuggling.
All that could be concluded was that it had been abandoned for a long time. It is likely we will never know who owned the ship, nor where it originated from.
The MV Joyita
In November 1955, a ship was found adrift in the South Pacific. It was the MV Joyita. She had been last seen leaving Samoa with 25 people on board, including a government official and two children. Unlike other ships found, the Joyita was a mess, with partial flooding due to internal damage, and blood-stained bandages found aboard. Due to the extreme buoyancy of the ship, it made sinking nearly impossible for the vessel, however, all the lifeboats were missing. Why would everyone have abandoned a vessel that was still more than capable of floating?
One of the theories put forward was that the captain had been injured, or even killed, and nobody was there to advise the passengers against abandoning the ship when the flooding occurred. Perhaps the flooding had triggered a panic-stricken mutiny? Some media even speculated that foreign forces had abducted the crew and there were other theories of insurance fraud.
As of 2012, all those aboard were still declared missing and she has been dubbed the "Mary Celeste of the South Pacific".
The Kaz-II
On the 15th of April 2007, three friends (Derek Batten, Peter Tunstead and James Tunstead) set out on a pleasure cruise off the coast of Australia. On 18 April, a helicopter reported spotting Kaz II adrift in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef and two days later, she was found by the Coast Guard drifting with no sign of life. On inspection, the GPS and radio were found to be functioning as normal, all the life jackets were stowed on board, there was laundry hanging out to dry, and a meal had been laid out on the dining table. In a spooky twist, investigators also found video footage that the three men took of themselves shortly before they disappeared, with everything appearing normal.
The official report suggested that all three men had somehow accidentally fallen overboard within moments of each other, and no better explanation has ever been brought forward.
The High Aim 6
In October 2002, a ship called the High Aim 6 left a port in Taiwan on a seemingly normal voyage. Months later she was found adrift and crew-less. Everything seemed normal on board, with no signs of a strugle or looting. A breakthrough came when authorities found that the chief engineer's mobile phone was still active, and being used, in Indonesia. This trail led them to one crew member who claimed that there had been some kind of mutiny and the captain had in fact been killed.
He didn't share any more details, and no explanation has ever been given for what happened to the mutineers.
The Jian Seng
The Jian Seng was a vessel found floating in Australian waters in 2006.
Investigators knew that it was a tanker, but apart from that, she had no name or identification marks. The only cargo found aboard was rice. Some papers discovered suggested the ship's name was Jian Seng, but its place of origin was a complete mystery. To add further to the puzzle, there were no signs of distress or illegal activities found, potentially ruling out a vessel used for trafficking or drug smuggling.
All that could be concluded was that it had been abandoned for a long time. It is likely we will never know who owned the ship, nor where it originated from.
The MV Joyita
In November 1955, a ship was found adrift in the South Pacific. It was the MV Joyita. She had been last seen leaving Samoa with 25 people on board, including a government official and two children. Unlike other ships found, the Joyita was a mess, with partial flooding due to internal damage, and blood-stained bandages found aboard. Due to the extreme buoyancy of the ship, it made sinking nearly impossible for the vessel, however, all the lifeboats were missing. Why would everyone have abandoned a vessel that was still more than capable of floating?
One of the theories put forward was that the captain had been injured, or even killed, and nobody was there to advise the passengers against abandoning the ship when the flooding occurred. Perhaps the flooding had triggered a panic-stricken mutiny? Some media even speculated that foreign forces had abducted the crew and there were other theories of insurance fraud.
As of 2012, all those aboard were still declared missing and she has been dubbed the "Mary Celeste of the South Pacific".
