Posted on 07/08/2024 10:32:20 AM PDT by george76
The Chinese grab dredge that desecrated the wrecks of two famous WWII warships off Malaysia has run into trouble with the law once more. The notorious Chuan Hong 68 has been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) again, this time over paperwork violations.
Last year, Malaysian authorities detained Chuan Hong 68 off Johor for allegedly crushing and removing the wreckage of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces during the invasion of the Malay .Peninsula in December 1941. Both are protected war graves. In May 2023, local residents obtained video of the vessel unloading what appeared to be a large cannon, dripping with mud, at a Malaysian scrapyard...
During the May 2023 boarding of the Chuan Hong 68, inspectors found rusting artillery shells and other scrap. The penalty for the crewmembers could be as much as two years in prison if convicted of desecrating wrecks, according to the New Straits Times. "MMEA] does not rule out the possibility that this vessel is involved in the theft of old British warship wrecks," the agency said at the time.
As recently as January 2024, Johor Police's unexploded ordnance team was called out to deal with aged, rusted artillery shells found at the scrapyard where Chuan Hong 68 offloaded her cargo. This included two 130mm shells - roughly equivalent to a 5.25-inch gun, of which HMS Prince of Wales had eight - and 55 aging 40mm shells, the standard size for the "pom-pom" antiaircraft guns used by the Royal Navy in WWII.
The MMEA has not released an update on the case over the course of the intervening 12 months, and Chuan Hong 68 has repeatedly returned to the same operating area northeast of the Singapore Strait, often disappearing from AIS for weeks at a time. This is the same region where she was operating when she was detained in 2023, and is approximately the same area as the HMS Prince of Wales' last known position.
On the afternoon of July 1, the MMEA and the Royal Malaysian Navy boarded Chuan Hong 68 at a position just off Tanjung Hantu, Perak state - on the opposite side of the Strait of Malacca from the dredge's previous area of operation, and about 300 nautical miles northwest of Singapore.
Take the ship. Lock up all the crew with hard labor.
As recently as January 2024, Johor Police’s unexploded ordnance team was called out to deal with aged, rusted artillery shells found at the scrapyard where Chuan Hong 68 offloaded her cargo. This included two 130mm shells - roughly equivalent to a 5.25-inch gun, of which HMS Prince of Wales had eight - and 55 aging 40mm shells, the standard size for the “pom-pom” antiaircraft guns used by the Royal Navy in WWII.
The MMEA has not released an update on the case over the course of the intervening 12 months, and Chuan Hong 68 has repeatedly returned to the same operating area northeast of the Singapore Strait, often disappearing from AIS for weeks at a time. This is the same region
what is the problem here? Are sunken ships considered non salvagable?
Those are very unstable at this point...
Be a shame, if that boat “just exploded” on the way from the wrecks...
> Are sunken ships considered non salvagable? <
They are graveyards, and so must not be disturbed.
But do the ChiComs care about that? Of course not.
Didn’t the Prince of Wales literally explode with only 3 survivors. Can’t believe there was much left of her.
...or was that HMS Hood?
Both are protected war graves.
Below article explains what they are after - “low background steel” - steel produced before post WWII atomic testing put very low amounts of radioactive cobalt into the atmosphere, used in very sensitive medical and military applications
Ironic that china is desecrating western war graves to fuel 21s century economic and technical war against the West
Think using ‘USS Arizona’ as the subject of the discussion.
-PJ
“But do the ChiComs care about that? Of course not.”
This is but one example of how the chinese don’t care about any rules whether it be the environment, space, war, commerce, it doesn’t matter what it is. The chinese are a cancer. They will destroy everything once they are the lone superpower.
As the equipment used to legally salvage ships from the bottom of the ocean improves, the danger to Pacific shipwrecks will only increase. Vessels protected by the depths may soon lose that protection unless countries that control the territorial waters begin protecting these historic sites.
What part of “WAR GRAVE” did you not understand?
Hood with 3 survivors. (She did much better battling the French than she did against the Germans). Prince of Wales only had 327 killed out of a complement of roughly 1500 men.
Despicable.
How would the Chinese like having parts of their Great Wall demolished by outsiders? -PJ
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Great Wall of China severely damaged by workers looking for a shortcut
“what is the problem here? “
The problem > You didn’t read the article ...
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