16 men died just before this photo was taken + revisting an eerie Maritime Mystery

Sunday, April 13, 2008 - Ship Collision Off Kyushu Island Leaves 3 Chinese Dead, 13 Missing.

A collision between two Chinese vessels has left three people dead and 13 others missing, said reports from the southern port city of Kagoshima on Japan's Kyushu island.

Freighter Shinyo Sawako, a vessel from China's Hong Kong Special Administration Region, and the fishing boat Lurongyu 2177 from the Chinese mainland collided on the waters some 350 km south of Takarajima Island, part of the Tokara chain of islands south of Kyushu, citing the Japan Coast Guard.

The fishing boat sank immediately after the crash, only two of its 18 crew members have been rescued

Link

Widely considered one of the most famous maritime images in modern history, this photo is the "money shot". It is taken from the back deck of an AHTS (Anchor handling tow supply) vessel undertaking a salvage operation to pull the bulk carrier from shallow water - after the bulk carrier altered course during collusion avoidance measures. purportedly - this was one of five images taken in quick succession.

Both vessels are stationery - if you look closely, you can see the Captain on the fos'cle (bow) of the bulk-carrier - standing by himself, in White. God knows what is going through his head - knowing the souls of 16 men are gone forever.

I just wanted to share this picture and story with the membership here.


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NOW, for those not familiar, I would like to leave you with this little story that I raised a few years ago.

**goosebumps**

The Ourang Medan - high strangeness on the high seas

All the crew and officers of the Ourang Medan were dead, their eyes open, faces looking towards the sun, arms outstretched and a look of terror on their faces. Even the ship's dog was dead, found with a snarling expression at some unseen enemy. When nearing the bodies in the boiler room, the rescue crew felt a chill though the temperature was near 110°F.

This, without doubt, continues to give me the chills for many many reasons. We’ve all heard of the stories of ghost ships and other maritime tales but perhaps you are not familiar with the SS Ourang Medan..

This story is so strange that there has been debate as to whether the vessel even existed in the first place - the USCG's testimony appears to favour the tale as being authentic.

You are going to have to hit the link because the summary will not do this tale justice!

mysteriousuniverse

I originally posted it here.

Ok I have to admit the Second story which I've never heard about before gave me goosebumps.

Always cool to read these types of stories.

reply to post by Sublimecraft


S and F. Very curious, but I have somewhat of an explanation...

I'm assuming these incidents occurred off the coast of South East Asia. Ever heard of the Dragon's Triangle? It's a fairly large area off this Asian coast with numerous reports eerily similar to those of the Bermuda Triangle. Reports as recent as the last decade of sailors experiencing fog rapidly consuming their ship, followed by seeing ships go by from the 1600's. Really spooky time warp #.

Thanks for the lovely link, another 'Bestgore' by the looks of things.

All the crew and officers of the Ourang Medan were dead, their eyes open, faces looking towards the sun, arms outstretched and a look of terror on their faces. Even the ship's dog was dead, found with a snarling expression at some unseen enemy. When nearing the bodies in the boiler room, the rescue crew felt a chill though the temperature was near 110°F.

Man, now that gave me the chills!!!!! I wonder what the hell they were seeing before they died. BRRRRRRR

reply to post by Sublimecraft


I remember the original thread and how much it affected me... be a cool idea to do a huge thread of all crazy maritime incidents...there has to be tons...maybe ill put something together...i love the water...very little experience on it but I prefer ships over flying...but that story scared the hell out of me.

Did they die right BEFORE the photo was taken as in the thread title....or right AFTER? I mean...if they died BEFORE it was taken....do you see my confusion?

reply to post by mysterioustranger


They died before the photo was taken - a number of hours before. The picture is the aftermath which shows the bulk-carrier and the salvage vessel pulling it free. The fishing vessel which sank with 13 men unaccounted for was literally about 400m away at the bottom of the ocean.

Thank you gonna read up on these. Very interesting I like mysteries.

I think there is a possibility that the Ourang Medan, if it even existed, could be explained by a large amount of CO2 releasing in the path of the ship. As they traveled through it they asphyxiated which could explain the strange wide eye and sprawled limbs as they gasped for air.
I imagine most people would feel a cold chill after finding all those bodies.

reply to post by TheLieWeLive


ohhhh...that was a creepy story....who knows what the truth really is....

reply to post by Sublimecraft

Thank you for the clarification...

Cool pic and story... but the mysterious second story is the star of the post.

I've wondered if the second tale was true, but after some perusing (years ago) it likely is.

Natural explanations aside (like gas releases in a geologically active region), once one knows aliens and 'spirits' seem to exist, it gets scarier.

But thankfully, such instances are rare enough that they show up in mystery lists, heh, otherwise we'd all be falling victim to hostile aliens or bodiless energy beings sucking the life from us... hmm, maybe we do and they are, but slower... maybe 'aging' is this happening in a slower time frame? Heh...

Sublimecraft
reply to post by mysterioustranger

 

They died before the photo was taken - a number of hours before. The picture is the aftermath which shows the bulk-carrier and the salvage vessel pulling it free. The fishing vessel which sank with 13 men unaccounted for was literally about 400m away at the bottom of the ocean.

I also was confused. When you said this photo was the "money shot", I assumed that you meant the photo was taken at the moment of impact or right before or something... so the money shot occurred 3 hours after the collision? That clears things up. I still don't know why you refer to it as the money shot or why you said the men died "just before the photo" (3 hours is not what I personally would consider just before but hey whatever) but at least it was cleared up on page 1 and snf for an intriguing story. Thanks for sharing bud! Hope I don't come off as sounding nitpicky

There is at least one other ATS thread on this, as I remember reading about it before. In the story at the link there is suggested the possibility that this ship was carrying either nerve gas or a combination of nitroglycerin and cyanide. Given that cool temperatures were felt in the hold, it would seem that some endothermic (taking in heat) chemical reaction occurred. As the story as described doesn't say what the rescuers found in the hold, it is incomplete. Creepy story if true, but no need to reach for a paranormal or alien explanation.

Very interesting and mysterious story.
S&F

But Why in "chit chat forum"?
Another mystery....