Ghost ship baffles police

CNN ASIA | 1.14.03

[Enemy Of The State]

Ghost ship baffles police

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 Posted: 3:54 PM HKT (0754 GMT)

CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- 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-meter (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 tons 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," said a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in Perth.

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.

[coloradan]

It was the salmon mousse!

[mhking]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/822482/posts

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

,i>"There weren't any indications on board that anything untoward had happened. The conditions on board were quite good,"

Arrrrh! It looks as if me maties was in and out quick and clean! Arrrhh!

[PAR35]

The conditions on board were quite good,"

With three tons of rotting fish on board?

[Voice in your head]

Perhaps they left to avoid the smell of the rotting fish?

[Ramius]

Sounds like they had a swim call but somebody forgot to put out the ladder first...

[EBUCK]

I know what happened!!!!

After kicking the crap out of some miners these guys were left unsatisfied and took to their ships in search of high adventure!!!

[mitchbert]

This boat should be rigorously tested for any contamination before it's brought anywhere near a port. Abandoned ship, no sign of struggle or distress, overriding impression is boat full of dead fish and nothing more. Sure.

Call me paranoid, but no one was expecting passenger jets to fly into sky scrapers and kill 3000 people once, too. Anything suspicious involving, especially, England, Australia or the U.S. must be assumed to be potentially hostile, even if we have to use up every scrap of tin foil on the continent. I'd rather look stupid assuming the worse than suffer thousands of casualties because someone didn't want to think like an evildoer. These are not normal times, folks.

[YOMO]

Kind of a new meaning to GHOST SHIP. You may not see the damned thing, but you shure can smell it.

[The Turbanator]

Maybe it was a bit foggy?

"The FOG"(japanese)1980

[fivecatsandadog]

You're right on target. Something stinks, and it's not the rotting mackerel. Seems like someone setup the "scenario" in hopes that people will crawl all over it trying to solve the "mystery", tow it to shore, crawl over it some more, etc.

[The Duke]

A boss of mine who was a sailing enthusiast was out one night alone in his boat dragging a very large baited hook some distance behind the boat. He told me that he had consumed several beers and had forgotten to attach his safety line.

Well, somewhere along the way he tumbled from the boat and watched it continue on into the darkness. As a last ditch effort to save himself he grabbed for that fishing line, which slipped between his fingers until that big ol' hook finally dug deep into his hand and started pulling him along through the night.

Eventually he had to pull himself back to boat along that thin fishing line - you can imagine the difficulty that must have entailed.

And of course, here he was trailing blood while being dragged through a location he had specifically chosen for big sharks!

I'm not sure if it's true, though he had scars to back it up. One heck of a good story, though!

[bert]

CNN is certain it was not a Green Peace vessel because it was "drifting aimlessly". As everyone knows, abandoned Green Peace vessels drift Purposely.

[Florida_Freeper]

I know what happened!!!!
After kicking the crap out of some miners these guys were left unsatisfied and took to their ships in search of high adventure!!!

Well, they're a far cry from Penn's Landing...or was that the Walt Whitman Bridge they were looking for.

Hope the make it in time for Sunday, GO BIRDS!!!

[EBUCK]

Gonna be a tough one...them Phillies always seem to have TB's number...

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Sounds like pirates who were surprised at the 3 tons of fish onboard and after making the crew walk the plant, abandoned the ship due to the cargo. It was probably the
ship and the immagined cargo they were after.

[sr4402]

"A Fish rots from the head down" Mondale debating Bush on the Reagan Administration... Backfired... on the Democratic party. Mondale was predicting Klinton and his affairs.

Democrats... here's your ship.

[new cruelty]

It was the salmon mousse!

But wait, I didn't have the mousse!

...

The whole thing sounds akin to the plot line from Donnie Darko (yes, I was the ONE person in the U.S. that saw that movie).