A Chinese dredger suspected of plundering two World War II Royal Navy shipwrecks last year was detained by Malaysian maritime authorities.
Music Video Chuan Hong 68 The entire crew was detained for paperwork violations, including port permits, and for having 60 unregistered LPG containers on board, not illegally collecting trash, according to the report. Maritime Executive.
But the bigger question, raised by Southeast Asian media outlets and being investigated by local authorities, is: Chuan Hong 68 Due to its “bad reputation” going back years, it cannot even be allowed back into Malaysian territorial waters.
In Kuala Lumpur New Straits Times Malaysian investigators are reportedly looking into the why and how of the attack. Chuan Hong 68 was issued a permit to carry out rescue operations on the MV fleet A sunken ship identified as the Maritime Fidelity was discovered off the coast of Johor in February and in September last year.
The incident occurred in May 2023 when dredgers apparently looted steel, aluminum and brass components from two warships. These metals are believed to be of great value in highly specialized manufacturing industries because they were produced before the use and testing of nuclear weapons.
During boarding in May 2023 Chuan Hong, 68 years old Inspectors found rusty shells and other junk likely from the two warships. Shortly after the boarding, Malaysian authorities seized two cannons, more weapons and other items from a junkyard, also likely from the sunken warships.
The paper reported that both “notices to sailors” indicating the salvage operation was underway had been removed from the country’s maritime information website, which also guides authorities on what ships are sailing in a country’s territorial waters.
Local police, Malaysia’s National Heritage Department and the country’s Maritime Law Enforcement Agency and Marine Department are also joining the investigation into how the permits were issued and removed from the website.
Last May, before the second rescue mission began, Malaysian authorities Chuan Hong 68 They are said to have crushed and removed the wreckage of the Royal Navy battleship HMS 1915 in the same area. Prince of Wales Battlecruiser HMS RepelUSNI News reported.
Both ships were sunk by Japanese bombers during the invasion of Malay in December 1941, just a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The illegal salvage operation in Malaysia showed how vulnerable historical heritage is to thieves looking to plunder war cemeteries, USNI News noted, the director of the Royal Navy Museum said in a statement.
The Royal Navy has called dredging the historic wreck site a “disgraceful act” after it was attacked by Japanese bombers, killing 840 crew members.
USNI News reported six years ago that the UK Ministry of Defence was so concerned about illegal dredging of the wreck, theft of materials and plunder that it had sent a task force of research vessels to the area to assess the condition of the sunken ship. The ministry also said at the time that it would monitor the ocean by satellite to track activity near the wreck.
Southeast Asian news media this week Chuan Hong 68 There are also suspicions of illegal salvaging of Dutch warships in Indonesia’s Java Sea, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Malaysian authorities have not issued an update on the incident 12 months after the two British naval vessels were allegedly caught fishing, the New Stars Times also reported. Chuan Hong 68 They have repeatedly returned to the same operating area in the northeast Singapore Strait, often disappearing from the Maritime Automatic Identification System for weeks at a time.
