Warship graves are being raided by a Chinese salvage company

A Chinese salvage company is raiding the HMS Prince of wales, and the HMS Repulse.

This is a low act.

The reason is they want the high quality steel from the hull particularly the armour belt.

They have dredged up unexplored ordnance, it wouldn’t be funny if a 15 inch shell went off on deck of the salvage boat.

www.news.com.au... d2727e90d37d

a reply to: robsmith

There’s been a lot of that going on lately, not just by Chinese companies. Several WWII wrecks that were well mapped out are now completely gone.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It’s terrible, is nothing sacred anymore, let them rest in peace.

It’s all about the dollars.

a reply to: robsmith

did they get tired of Gutter Oil? www.youtube.com...

a reply to: TWS1969

I’ve seen that before, pretty gross. Though what we need to ask is it for export only?

a reply to: robsmith

Communists have no morals.

a reply to: robsmith

The value in the metal is not that it is high quality steel, it is the fact it has no atomic bomb fallout within it. All steel after the atomic bombs were dropped has some traces of the fallout from the bombs. Also, the above ground tests did not help.

I thought according to international law that any warship that went down with anyone remaining onboard was considered a war grave.

This should be met with extreme actions.

a reply to: beyondknowledge2

It is. But they can’t monitor them all the time, so salvagers are taking advantage of that.

a reply to: beyondknowledge2

The value in the metal is not that it is high quality steel, it is the fact it has no atomic bomb fallout within it.

that might have been true 30 40 years ago. but my understanding since Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 atmospheric testing has stopped and background fallout has fallen to just about natural levels.

a reply to: BernnieJGato

This article states there is less. Demand for it now but there still is a demand in speciality sensitive equipment. Like in geiger counters.

a reply to: beyondknowledge2

I did read that, the steel is sought for that reason

I thought that as well they were war graves, though where is the uproar.

I thought the conspiracy was that "they" needed steel made before the atomic bombs went off and tainted the world's metals.

originally posted by: vonclod
This should be met with extreme actions.

I agree. OR,we can just taint them so they wont be useable. Irradiate the wrecks and they will not want the metal anymore.

I'd heard that the old pre nuke steel was important for reactors too, hence why a lot of the Scapa Flow German ships got chopped up and carted off.

a reply to: SprocketUK

The steel is used in some scientific and medical equipment because it doesn’t have the contamination that current metals have.

Malaysia detained a Chinese ship suspected of illegal salvage. They failed to show anchor permits when stopped, and authorities found scrap steel and shells on board. The shells could be from a previous seizure of WWII shells, but could have come from HMS Prince of Wales.

www.reuters.com...