JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2001
- Messages
- 14,201
I came across this when researching something else. These three articles tell a curious tale which was new to me, though curiously familiar.
http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/ktarchive ... eworld.htm
15 January 2003
Ghost ship packed with rotten fish found on high sea
CANBERRA - Australian police said on Tuesday they were baffled by the discovery of a ghost ship full of rotting fish -- but no crew or life rafts -- drifting off the remote northwest coast of Australia.
The 20-metre (65-ft) High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying an Indonesian flag, was intercepted and boarded by the Australian navy last week about 300 km (185 miles) west of the fishing port of Broome after it was spotted drifting aimlessly. A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors, life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tonnes of rotting mackerel and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fisherman, not people smugglers.
"There weren't any indications on board that anything untoward had happened. The conditions on board were quite good," a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in Perth told Reuters.
She said the long-line fishing boat, which would have a crew of around 12, appeared well-equipped and seaworthy. The weather in the area has been calm for weeks.
Police have launched an international investigation in a bid to track down the owners or crew of the boat. "The only factor we have to work with at the moment is the fact that it is Taiwanese-owned, so we'll be going to the owners to try to learn a little bit more about the crew and a little bit more about the history of the vessel's passage to this point," the police spokeswoman said. - Reuters
http://www.abc.net.au/kimberley/stories/s1204140.htm
Presenter: Vanessa Mills
Wednesday, 22 September 2004
The Ghost Ship in balmy days in Roebuck Bay.
The "Ghost Ship" is about to be scuppered.
But not as an artificial reef or a dive wreck – it’s going to the tip.
The unusual shaped fishing vessel has become an unlikely icon and unofficial tourist attraction on the foreshore of Broome's Roebuck Bay over the past year and a half.
Registered as High Aim 6, everyone simply calls it the ghost ship.
It’s a Taiwanese fishing boat that was found drifting without its crew off the Kimberley coast in January 2003. Its hold was filled with tonnes of rotting fish and in the captain's cabin there were the signs of life such as cigarettes and reading glasses.
The discovery sparked an international investigation but the whereabouts of the crew or why the boat was abandoned remains mystery.
Certainly the Taiwanese owner didn’t want High Aim 6 back and that left Federal authorities in a dilemma about what to do with the 24 metre vessel... until now.
Plans to sink it as a dive wreck have been rejected because it could become a shipping hazard or an environmental threat. The boat had been leaking diesel and couldn’t be burnt because of its fibreglass hull.
Over the next few weeks the ghost ship will be broken up and taken to the Broome tip, which hasn’t made everyone happy.
Talkback callers to ABC Radio Kimberley's breakfast programme expressed their disappointment, even outrage.
Broome Fishing Club member Kevin Blatchford says the plans for it to be a wreck would have been marvellous but they were hamstrung by red tape and money.
Howwever it's understood that a group of Broome businessmen might be mounting a last ditch effort to turn the ghost ship into a tourist attraction.
The High Aim 6 is showing signs of deterioration – it’s sitting on the red mudflats day after day & listing heavily. Curiously, it does seem to have nine lives; having survived cyclones while other boats were wrecked or damaged.
The boat is also in a lot of photo albums!
A local professional photographer says it's the third most popular attraction to take a snap of, behind the staircase to the moon and boabs.
Roebuck Bay won’t be the same for Roger Colless when the ghost ship goes.
Roger runs the local hovercraft operation at the Broome port and the High Aim 6 has been parked in his 'front yard' for the past 20 months.
Just a few metres from the edge of his lawn, Roger says it's been a popular backdrop for wedding photos.
http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/traw ... 55749.html
Interesting article from NYC International section 1/18/03
A Fishing Boat Falls Prey to Mutiny? Pirates?
By RAYMOND BONNER
ILLIE CREEK, Australia, Jan. 17 Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, before
the
sun's rays bounced off the waves on the third day of 2003, something
happened aboard the High Aim No. 6, a long-line fishing boat.
When the Australian Navy came upon the 80-foot vessel six days later, on
Jan. 9, it was drifting, on full throttle, the main gas tank dry. The
auxiliary fuel tanks, full, had not been switched on. When the sailors
boarded, they found 10 tons of valuable bonito tuna in the refrigerated
hold.
A partial carton of Marlboro cigarettes and a jar of Nescafi were on the
dash above the helm in the wheelhouse, along with the captain's reading
glasses. The crew members' clothes and international documents were
neatly
where they should be.
But there was no crew. Vanished. Gone.
What happened to the crew of the High Aim has baffled Australian
investigators and salty sea veterans, as well as the residents in this
sparsely populated, far-off corner of Australia, who have come to call
it
"the ghost ship."
Every theory is quickly dashed on the shoals of contradicting facts, and
more questions surface.
"I've been working with boats all my life and I've never seen anything
like
this," said Craig Kennedy, standing at the water's edge in shorts and
thong
sandals, his head protected from the punishing sun by a battered Akubra,
the
wide-brimmed Australian cowboy hat. The High Aim is tossing on the waves
just visible, a mile off the beach, where the navy towed it.
"It's just a bloody mystery," he said. The hulk of another boat, which
had
been used by people smugglers, listed in the sand behind him.
Mr. Kennedy, 50, has seen smugglers, pirates and mutineers. He lives in
a
ramshackle collection of structures at the end of a red dirt road that
runs
through a wilderness of acacia trees and shrubs, populated by gray
kangaroos
and dingos. Here he operates a detention center of sorts for boats and
crews
caught doing something illegal in Australian waters.
Now the High Aim is in his custody, and each day his sons, Chaz and
Chris,
motor out to it in their open boat with a 75-horsepower outboard to
empty
more fish from the hold. Eight tons have already been tossed into the
sea,
attracting sharks, they said. Today as they skillfully piloted the boat
over
10-foot swells, they talked about the theories about what had happened,
and
why all had holes in them. The Australian police have begun an
investigation
but are no closer to solving the mystery.
"Creepy, isn't it?" a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in
Perth
said as she went over the facts known so far.
The High Aim left Taiwan on Oct. 31 with a captain and engineer, and
sailed
to Indonesia, where on Nov. 16 it picked up a crew of eight.
There have been press reports that the engineer, who was from Taiwan,
made
phone calls from his mobile phone while in Bali, but the reports seem
inspired by a desire to add to the intrigue by suggesting that the ship
was
being used to spirit away some of those responsible for the terrorist
bombing in Bali on Oct. 12.
The Australian investigators have not determined where the calls were
made,
nor do they know the Indonesian port where the High Aim called, the
police
spokeswoman said.
But the investigators have determined that from Indonesia, the ship and
crew
went to the Marshall Islands for their mission, fishing.
The owner talked with his captain on Dec. 16. It was the last known
contact
with the boat, the police spokeswoman said.
Later in December the United States Coast Guard, apparently in response
to a
missing-boat call from the owner, searched for the High Aim in the
vicinity
of the Marshall Islands. It found nothing.
Then, on Jan. 4, the Australian crew of a twin-engine Bombardier de
Havilland Dash 8 spotted the High Aim. It was far from the Marshall
Islands,
near the Rowley Shoals, about 150 miles off the coast here.
The plane, belonging to Coastwatch, a division of the Australian Customs
Service, was on a routine surveillance mission looking for drug runners,
people smugglers and illegal fishing boats.
A photo taken by the customs agents shows the deck of the High Aim
devoid of
any human activity, and the agents did not see anyone aboard the boat, a
Customs Service official in Broome, Paul McCoy, said in an interview.
That was not a cause for suspicion, he said, because foreign fishing
crews
often store their gear and go below when in Australia's waters, where
foreign fishing is severely restricted.
Advertisement
But because it was a foreign ship inside the Australian fishing zone,
which
extends 200 miles into the sea, the customs agents radioed a report
immediately to the authorities in Canberra, the capital.
The authorities there decided that there was no need for concern, that
the
Taiwanese boat was probably passing through Australian waters to new
fishing
grounds.
In fact, the crew had probably abandoned the boat, for whatever reason,
in
the 48 hours before Coastwatch spotted it. The tear-off calendar hanging
in
the wheelhouse still has the Jan. 3 page on it; earlier pages had been
torn
off.
On Jan. 9, while heading into port at Broome, an Australian Navy ship,
the
Stuart, came upon the drifting ship and boarded it. The investigation
began.
The first assumption was that the boat had belonged to people smugglers.
But
for many reasons that has been discounted, officials said.
Mutiny comes to mind. Indonesian crews have been known to turn on their
Chinese captains, said Mr. Kennedy, who now has custody of the boat. But
there was no blood on the boat, and no other evidence of a struggle, he
said.
Besides, if there had been a mutiny, the Indonesian crew would have
stripped
the boat of everything valuable, Mr. Kennedy said. "I've been around
Indonesian crews for 15 years," he said. "I know they would not have
left
anything."
But highly valuable equipment is still aboard on the High Aim, including
an
echo sounder for locating fish, radar gear and a Global Positioning
System.
The only thing that was missing was the high-frequency radio. This
suggests
that someone did not want the crew to radio for help. That suggests
pirates.
Piracy is notorious in the waters between Indonesia and Australia, and
with
their AK-47 rifles, pirates have even seized huge commercial tankers.
But pirates would have taken the boat and the valuable tuna, Mr. Kennedy
said.
Perhaps, he said, the pirates were interrupted in their mission. But
then
where did they and the crew go?
A life raft is missing from the boat maybe. No life raft was found on
the
High Aim, Mr. Kennedy said, but then, owners always say they have life
rafts
but do not necessarily provide them.
If the crew did flee in the life raft, where are they? The weather at
sea
has been calm for the last two weeks, so they should have been found or
reached safety.
"We wait with bated breath," said Mr. McCoy, the customs agent.
http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/ktarchive ... eworld.htm
15 January 2003
Ghost ship packed with rotten fish found on high sea
CANBERRA - Australian police said on Tuesday they were baffled by the discovery of a ghost ship full of rotting fish -- but no crew or life rafts -- drifting off the remote northwest coast of Australia.
The 20-metre (65-ft) High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying an Indonesian flag, was intercepted and boarded by the Australian navy last week about 300 km (185 miles) west of the fishing port of Broome after it was spotted drifting aimlessly. A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors, life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tonnes of rotting mackerel and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fisherman, not people smugglers.
"There weren't any indications on board that anything untoward had happened. The conditions on board were quite good," a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in Perth told Reuters.
She said the long-line fishing boat, which would have a crew of around 12, appeared well-equipped and seaworthy. The weather in the area has been calm for weeks.
Police have launched an international investigation in a bid to track down the owners or crew of the boat. "The only factor we have to work with at the moment is the fact that it is Taiwanese-owned, so we'll be going to the owners to try to learn a little bit more about the crew and a little bit more about the history of the vessel's passage to this point," the police spokeswoman said. - Reuters
http://www.abc.net.au/kimberley/stories/s1204140.htm
Presenter: Vanessa Mills
Wednesday, 22 September 2004
The Ghost Ship in balmy days in Roebuck Bay.
The "Ghost Ship" is about to be scuppered.
But not as an artificial reef or a dive wreck – it’s going to the tip.
The unusual shaped fishing vessel has become an unlikely icon and unofficial tourist attraction on the foreshore of Broome's Roebuck Bay over the past year and a half.
Registered as High Aim 6, everyone simply calls it the ghost ship.
It’s a Taiwanese fishing boat that was found drifting without its crew off the Kimberley coast in January 2003. Its hold was filled with tonnes of rotting fish and in the captain's cabin there were the signs of life such as cigarettes and reading glasses.
The discovery sparked an international investigation but the whereabouts of the crew or why the boat was abandoned remains mystery.
Certainly the Taiwanese owner didn’t want High Aim 6 back and that left Federal authorities in a dilemma about what to do with the 24 metre vessel... until now.
Plans to sink it as a dive wreck have been rejected because it could become a shipping hazard or an environmental threat. The boat had been leaking diesel and couldn’t be burnt because of its fibreglass hull.
Over the next few weeks the ghost ship will be broken up and taken to the Broome tip, which hasn’t made everyone happy.
Talkback callers to ABC Radio Kimberley's breakfast programme expressed their disappointment, even outrage.
Broome Fishing Club member Kevin Blatchford says the plans for it to be a wreck would have been marvellous but they were hamstrung by red tape and money.
Howwever it's understood that a group of Broome businessmen might be mounting a last ditch effort to turn the ghost ship into a tourist attraction.
The High Aim 6 is showing signs of deterioration – it’s sitting on the red mudflats day after day & listing heavily. Curiously, it does seem to have nine lives; having survived cyclones while other boats were wrecked or damaged.
The boat is also in a lot of photo albums!
A local professional photographer says it's the third most popular attraction to take a snap of, behind the staircase to the moon and boabs.
Roebuck Bay won’t be the same for Roger Colless when the ghost ship goes.
Roger runs the local hovercraft operation at the Broome port and the High Aim 6 has been parked in his 'front yard' for the past 20 months.
Just a few metres from the edge of his lawn, Roger says it's been a popular backdrop for wedding photos.
http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/traw ... 55749.html
Interesting article from NYC International section 1/18/03
A Fishing Boat Falls Prey to Mutiny? Pirates?
By RAYMOND BONNER
ILLIE CREEK, Australia, Jan. 17 Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, before
the
sun's rays bounced off the waves on the third day of 2003, something
happened aboard the High Aim No. 6, a long-line fishing boat.
When the Australian Navy came upon the 80-foot vessel six days later, on
Jan. 9, it was drifting, on full throttle, the main gas tank dry. The
auxiliary fuel tanks, full, had not been switched on. When the sailors
boarded, they found 10 tons of valuable bonito tuna in the refrigerated
hold.
A partial carton of Marlboro cigarettes and a jar of Nescafi were on the
dash above the helm in the wheelhouse, along with the captain's reading
glasses. The crew members' clothes and international documents were
neatly
where they should be.
But there was no crew. Vanished. Gone.
What happened to the crew of the High Aim has baffled Australian
investigators and salty sea veterans, as well as the residents in this
sparsely populated, far-off corner of Australia, who have come to call
it
"the ghost ship."
Every theory is quickly dashed on the shoals of contradicting facts, and
more questions surface.
"I've been working with boats all my life and I've never seen anything
like
this," said Craig Kennedy, standing at the water's edge in shorts and
thong
sandals, his head protected from the punishing sun by a battered Akubra,
the
wide-brimmed Australian cowboy hat. The High Aim is tossing on the waves
just visible, a mile off the beach, where the navy towed it.
"It's just a bloody mystery," he said. The hulk of another boat, which
had
been used by people smugglers, listed in the sand behind him.
Mr. Kennedy, 50, has seen smugglers, pirates and mutineers. He lives in
a
ramshackle collection of structures at the end of a red dirt road that
runs
through a wilderness of acacia trees and shrubs, populated by gray
kangaroos
and dingos. Here he operates a detention center of sorts for boats and
crews
caught doing something illegal in Australian waters.
Now the High Aim is in his custody, and each day his sons, Chaz and
Chris,
motor out to it in their open boat with a 75-horsepower outboard to
empty
more fish from the hold. Eight tons have already been tossed into the
sea,
attracting sharks, they said. Today as they skillfully piloted the boat
over
10-foot swells, they talked about the theories about what had happened,
and
why all had holes in them. The Australian police have begun an
investigation
but are no closer to solving the mystery.
"Creepy, isn't it?" a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in
Perth
said as she went over the facts known so far.
The High Aim left Taiwan on Oct. 31 with a captain and engineer, and
sailed
to Indonesia, where on Nov. 16 it picked up a crew of eight.
There have been press reports that the engineer, who was from Taiwan,
made
phone calls from his mobile phone while in Bali, but the reports seem
inspired by a desire to add to the intrigue by suggesting that the ship
was
being used to spirit away some of those responsible for the terrorist
bombing in Bali on Oct. 12.
The Australian investigators have not determined where the calls were
made,
nor do they know the Indonesian port where the High Aim called, the
police
spokeswoman said.
But the investigators have determined that from Indonesia, the ship and
crew
went to the Marshall Islands for their mission, fishing.
The owner talked with his captain on Dec. 16. It was the last known
contact
with the boat, the police spokeswoman said.
Later in December the United States Coast Guard, apparently in response
to a
missing-boat call from the owner, searched for the High Aim in the
vicinity
of the Marshall Islands. It found nothing.
Then, on Jan. 4, the Australian crew of a twin-engine Bombardier de
Havilland Dash 8 spotted the High Aim. It was far from the Marshall
Islands,
near the Rowley Shoals, about 150 miles off the coast here.
The plane, belonging to Coastwatch, a division of the Australian Customs
Service, was on a routine surveillance mission looking for drug runners,
people smugglers and illegal fishing boats.
A photo taken by the customs agents shows the deck of the High Aim
devoid of
any human activity, and the agents did not see anyone aboard the boat, a
Customs Service official in Broome, Paul McCoy, said in an interview.
That was not a cause for suspicion, he said, because foreign fishing
crews
often store their gear and go below when in Australia's waters, where
foreign fishing is severely restricted.
Advertisement
But because it was a foreign ship inside the Australian fishing zone,
which
extends 200 miles into the sea, the customs agents radioed a report
immediately to the authorities in Canberra, the capital.
The authorities there decided that there was no need for concern, that
the
Taiwanese boat was probably passing through Australian waters to new
fishing
grounds.
In fact, the crew had probably abandoned the boat, for whatever reason,
in
the 48 hours before Coastwatch spotted it. The tear-off calendar hanging
in
the wheelhouse still has the Jan. 3 page on it; earlier pages had been
torn
off.
On Jan. 9, while heading into port at Broome, an Australian Navy ship,
the
Stuart, came upon the drifting ship and boarded it. The investigation
began.
The first assumption was that the boat had belonged to people smugglers.
But
for many reasons that has been discounted, officials said.
Mutiny comes to mind. Indonesian crews have been known to turn on their
Chinese captains, said Mr. Kennedy, who now has custody of the boat. But
there was no blood on the boat, and no other evidence of a struggle, he
said.
Besides, if there had been a mutiny, the Indonesian crew would have
stripped
the boat of everything valuable, Mr. Kennedy said. "I've been around
Indonesian crews for 15 years," he said. "I know they would not have
left
anything."
But highly valuable equipment is still aboard on the High Aim, including
an
echo sounder for locating fish, radar gear and a Global Positioning
System.
The only thing that was missing was the high-frequency radio. This
suggests
that someone did not want the crew to radio for help. That suggests
pirates.
Piracy is notorious in the waters between Indonesia and Australia, and
with
their AK-47 rifles, pirates have even seized huge commercial tankers.
But pirates would have taken the boat and the valuable tuna, Mr. Kennedy
said.
Perhaps, he said, the pirates were interrupted in their mission. But
then
where did they and the crew go?
A life raft is missing from the boat maybe. No life raft was found on
the
High Aim, Mr. Kennedy said, but then, owners always say they have life
rafts
but do not necessarily provide them.
If the crew did flee in the life raft, where are they? The weather at
sea
has been calm for the last two weeks, so they should have been found or
reached safety.
"We wait with bated breath," said Mr. McCoy, the customs agent.