High Aim 6
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High Aim 6 was a ghost ship found drifting in Australian waters, an obscure and rarely covered mystery from 2003. The ship is known to have left the port of Liuchiu in Taiwan on October 31, 2002. The owner of the ship, Tsai Huang Shueh-er, spoke last with the captain in December 2002. The ship was found without its crew on January 8, 2003. What happened after the last communication remains unknown. The vessel was registered in Taiwan and flew under an Indonesian flag.[1]
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[edit] Initial discovery
The vessel was found drifting in calm waters approximately 80 nautical miles (150 km) east of Rowley Shoals inside the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. The crew was missing. There was no evident reason for the abandonment: no signs of distress were found, and the crew's personal effects remained on board. The High Aim 6 had plenty of fuel and provisions and no sign of a struggle could be found. Initial concerns that the ship had been carrying illegal immigrants were dismissed when the contents of the hold proved to be rotting fish. The ship was equipped for long-line fishing.
When the ship was first sighted five days before being boarded, its motor was running and it was underway. At the time of boarding, the engine was dead and the rudder was locked, causing the ship to drift in one direction.
The High Aim 6 was towed to Broome, where subsequent forensic examination was conducted. Despite a search of some 7,300 nautical miles (13,500 km), no trace of crew was ever found.
[edit] Final disposition of the ship
High Aim 6 sat beached on the sand beach of Broome for about a year, becoming a popular tourist attraction. Locals had hoped the ship would be dragged offshore and scuttled to be used as a dive wreck, but the ship was dismantled and transferred to a local landfill a year after its discovery.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Taipei Times (2003-01-16) "Abandoned ship presents mystery no one can solve" (2007-04-21)
- ^ Mills, Vanessa (2004-10-5) "Landfill burial for "Ghost Ship", ABC Kimberley (2007-04-21)
