Tag Archives: Ghost ships

General

News of the very grim…

Over on CNN.com, I found this story, written by Kaori Enjoji and James Griffiths…

Ghost ships wash up in Japan with skeletons on board

Here’s a photo from the article, showing one of the ships that grounded ashore…

Japanese officials gather on Nov. 27, 2017, near a boat washed ashore in Oga, Akita Prefecture. Authorities found eight bodies in the unidentified wooden boat.

So, what’s this about?

The article (I don’t want to give it all away, so if you are interested please click on that link and read!), notes that the ships are thought to come from North Korea and the reason they’re showing up has to do with the ugly conditions in the country: Food is scarce and the country has allowed more and more people to fish for their food… and many of these people do not know and/or do not have the proper experience to do so.

They sail out and get lost or lose control of their vessel in the currents/weather and become lost and unable to save themselves.

A horrible, horrible way to die.

The article truly sends chills down my spine.

General

Ghost ship filled with cannibal rats…

…on its way to the UK?!

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/23/a-ghost-ship-filled-with-cannibal-rats-may-be-headed-straight-for-britain/

That alone could be one of the most eye-catching headlines written this year!

As for the story itself, it concerns the possibility of an abandoned (ie, ghost) ship floating out at sea and lost which may be headed in the general vicinity of the UK.  As for the cannibal rats, the theory is that the ship probably has rats on board and since they don’t have food, the only way to survive is, you guessed it, by eating each other.

The most interesting thing about the article, to me, was this line:

(Ghost ships are) just the term used for ships with no living crew aboard, and according to Quartz, they’re not that rare — sailors have spotted at least seven such ships in the past 15 years.

Seven “ghost ships” spotted in the past 15 years?  That means we’ve got roughly one popping up every couple of years.  That is quite intriguing.