Chinese 'Ghost Ship' Found Floating Off Coast Of Thailand

An abandoned 'ghost ship' has been found by offshore oil rig workers floating crewless off the coast of Thailand. You can see eerie footage of the ship being boarded below:

The Chevron workers stationed in the Gulf of Thailand discovered the unnerving 80-metre-long Chinese craft last week on 6 January and filmed the whole ordeal.

Local authorities are co-ordinating an operation with the Thai government's marine department to stop the ship's oil leak from harming the environment or spreading to holiday islands in the vicinity.

Thai navy Captain Itthipat Gavinfuengfukul said: "We have been trying to bring the ship to shore, but it sank before we could reach it.

"Buoys have been deployed at the point where it sank."

Chinese characters label the ship as 'Jin Shui Yuan 2'.

Its origin is yet unknown. Its crew is missing. Its cargo, documents, and anything that might identify it are gone.

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Stunning footage shows the ship floating in silence through the night as its rescuers shine torch beams at it.

The massive hull tilts at an angle towards the torches as if it were about to keel over and sink.

Thai navy men in khaki outfits are later shown boarding the vessel as their own comes alongside it, weapons in hand.

You would be forgiven for mistaking the clip for the opening scene to a new Paranormal Activity film.

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Everything related to the craft, other than what can be seen in the video, is yet to be discovered.

Jin Shui Yan 2 was first found 100 nautical miles (115 miles) from the Thai city of Songkhla, but it never made it back to shore.

Rough winds and stormy seas near the Thai district of Sichon in Si Thammarat province sank the ship as the Thai navy towed it to shore on 9 January.

Buoys were placed to mark the area where the ship had sunk and fishermen were alerted to be careful while sailing.

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A notice has been issued to the shipowner to salvage the vessel within 15 days.

Captain Itthipat said the ship was floating 18 metres below the surface of the water and only 28 nautical miles (32 miles) from the coast of Sichon.

If the shipowner comes forward, he said, he or she would have to pay to claim the now wrecked craft.

Thailand's Centre for National Marine Interest Region 2 will be investigating the matter further.

Charlie Metcalfe

Charlie is a freelance features journalist with articles on BBC News and in The Telegraph. He covers any story that piques his interest.

@cafmetcalfe