Real Ghost Ships Left Abandoned

Of all the tales from our big, blue oceans, the eerie stories of ghost ships are easily the most terrifying. The crews of those mysterious ships suddenly vanish into thin air, leaving the abandoned vessels to sail for days or even years on the endless ocean waves.

While many believe those spooky stories are all works of fiction, unmanned ships scarily sailing around the world have made headlines the world over. And to this day, there are some that defy all explanation. Let's explore some of the world’s most famous and mysterious real life ghost ships.

The Myanmar Ghost Ship

In 2018, a large, ominous figure was spotted sailing through the mists off Myanmar’s southern coast. But the huge freighter, which bore the name “Sam Ratulangi PB 1600” on its side, didn’t respond to any of the coastguards calls. For a week it loomed ever closer to the shoreline, before eventually running aground on a nearby sandbar.

When it finally came to a standstill, a team hesitantly boarded the freaky freighter, but they didn’t find another living soul. With no crew and no cargo, the authorities were left baffled as to how such a huge ship had found its way into Myanmar’s waters.

Abandoned 'ghost ship' grounds off coast of Myanmar by ABC Television Stations

Authorities began scouring maritime registries and systems for the ships last known co-ordinates when they stumbled across something shocking. It turned out the freighter had last been located along the coast of Taiwan in 2009, almost a decade before it had turned up in Myanmar.

That added another confusing layer to the ever growing enigma. Had the ship really spent 9 years drifting aimlessly across the South Pacific, South Atlantic, and Indian Oceans? If not, how had it reached the other side of the Asian continent without being spotted even once? At more than 580 feet long, it would have been pretty hard to miss!

The Myanmar authorities were growing increasingly unsettled when, a few days later, they discovered a tugboat 50 miles off their coast. After questioning the crew, they learned that the tugboat had been towing the vessel to a scrapyard in Bangladesh to be dismantled.

But bad weather had snapped the cables attaching the tug to the freighter, forcing the crew to abandon the old ship. While that explains how it ended up without a crew or cargo, authorities never discovered where it had been for those 9 missing years. To this day, the eerie investigation is still ongoing.

The Ryou Un-Maru

When the coast of Japan was hit by the devastating tsunami of 2011, at least 22 ships were reported to have been sunk, wrecked, or lost to the terrifying swell of the waves. But one unlikely survivor managed to escape into the ocean waters! The Ryou Un-Maru, a 164 feet fishing vessel refused to go down without a fight.

Except, there was no one aboard! With all the chaos left in the tsunami’s wake, it was assumed to have sunk like the rest, so nobody set out to find it. For over a year the abandoned survivor drifted across the sea without a course or heading, when it was suddenly spotted off the coast of Alaska.

It was drifting 180 miles southwest of the US & Canadian boarders, and after the coastguard assessed its condition, they deemed it safe to be salvaged. But being at sea for so long had taken a serious toll on the old vessel. Its fuel tank had been badly ruptured and couldn’t be pumped out, meaning there was no way to tow it back to land.

Afraid it could become a hazard to other ships navigating the area, the order was given for the lonely vessel to be sunk where it swam. Using a series of autocannons, the coastguard fired upon the little boat, setting the remaining fuel it was carrying on fire.

ryou un maru by Disco Sounds

Surrounded by a grand spectacle of smoke and sea, the ship slowly sank beneath the waves and made its final, lonely journey to the bottom of the ocean.

The Jian Seng

A true to life ghost ship, the Jian Seng was discovered floating unnervingly off the Australian coast of Queensland back in 2006. And upon inspection, investigators realized that it wasn’t just its crew that was missing. The ship had no identifying features, or even a name.

Ghostly Vessel: The Eerie Legend of the Jian Seng by Deep Dive History

All they knew for certain was that the anonymous vessel was a 262 ft tanker that had clearly been at sea for a very, very long time. After teams scoured every inch of the ship, they eventually came across several documents that indicated its name was the Jian Seng. But, without its port of origin, they had no way of knowing where it had come from.

To add to the confusion, a huge amount of rice was discovered stashed below deck! Although, without signs of any human activity, it ruled out the possibility of the boat being used for illegal activity like smuggling.

It may have been used to resupply fishing boats outside Australia’s Exclusive Economic zone, which extends over 230 miles from its coast. All the investigators could conclude was that it had been abandoned long ago. And, in true ghost story fashion, it’s unlikely anyone will ever know where it came from!

The Bel’Amica

The coast of the Punta Volpe on the island of Sardinia is glamorously known as a millionaire's playground. But the bright white beaches and brilliant blue seas had an unwelcome visitor back in 2006. Drifting menacingly off the coast, a classic, luxury, twin mast sailing vessel worth at least $600,000 appeared to be sailing without a captain!

It was on course to collide with the island’s rocky coast, but the coastguards were able to board the vessel and attach a tow it back just in time. Though what they then found on board made their blood run cold. Maps of the Mediterranean, piles of clothes, and an ominously half eaten meal were strewn about the ship, indicating someone had been there recently.

To add to the mystery, the ship’s GPS navigation system had its memory wiped! The chilling discovery drove investigators to scour the vessel for clues. Despite their thorough search, they could find no documents to identify the ship by, save for a wooden plaque reading Bel’Amica which had been curiously hidden under a pile of cushions.

However, when they cross checked the name with shipping registries, no registered vessels were sailing under that name. Unnerved by its abandonment, several questions began to emerge. Had its owner fallen overboard? Had it been used in an illegal trafficking operation and abandoned?

The authorities were stumped that was, until its owner revealed himself. Frank Rouyrux, a Luxembourg national, claimed he had been urgently called away from his ship, leaving it anchored on the island’s shores a few days before.

But that raised more questions than answers. Why hadn’t it been registered? Why had the name plaque been hidden? And why had the satellite memory been wiped? Frustratingly, Rouayrux never answered those questions, leaving the world to wonder what exactly forced him to abandon the boat at the 11th hour.

The Ghost Ship of Lake Superior

When videographer Jason Asselin stepped onto the shores of Michigan’s Lake Superior to film a music video in 2016, he was hoping to capture a pretty dramatic backdrop. And in that regard, he got more than he could have ever hoped for! Shimmering on the choppy waters of the world’s largest freshwater lake was a humungous, ship shaped specter!

Unable to believe his eyes, Jason captured the freak event on camera. As you can see in the footage below, it was an incredible scene, but ghost ship sightings here aren’t exactly rare. That’s because the great lakes are home to more than 6,000 shipwrecks! 200 of which were in the 80-mile stretch of Lake Superior off Whitefish Point, which wasn’t too far from where Asselin was filming.

A Ghost Ship Appears on Lake Superior (Original) | Jason Asselin by Jason Asselin

Though it might be tempting to think that was a watery haunting, the reality is much more fascinating! That shimmering image is likely to be the Granite Island lighthouse, about 12 miles off the coast from where Asselin was filming. But the reason it seems so huge comes down to the way our brains perceive it.

In the same way the sun and moon look huge when they’re perched on the horizon, even though they’re not actually any closer to us. And that video plays the same trick on our eyes! It’s captured a smaller image that appears much larger because it’s further away!

While it’s a fun optical illusion, some people still swear that that could be an otherworldly phenomenon like a ghost ship, a UFO, or even Jesus walking on water!

The Fata Morgana

But Jason Asselin isn’t the only person to have captured a mysterious mirage like that on camera! Images and videos of ships floating high above the waves or impossibly shaped vessels from all over the world have fueled rumors that fleets of real life ghost ships haunt our waters.

But those strange ships aren’t always what they seem, thanks to something called the Fata Morgana. It’s an optical illusion that occurs when atmospheric and visual conditions are just right.

First, a cold air mass close to the water must be topped by a warmer layer of air higher in the atmosphere. Then, during the sighting, rays of light pass through the duct of those warm and cold layers, forcing the light to change its angle and refract.

But how does bending light create a full mirage? That comes down to the way our brains process the image before us. When light hits our eyes, our brains assume that the light has arrived in a straight path. In the case of a fata morgana, light bends downwards as it passes through the colder air.

But our brains place the object where it would be if it came at us in a straight path, meaning it appears higher than it actually is!

While that may take the wind out of those ghost story sails, it doesn’t stop sightings of floating tankers or weirdly warped vessels feeling any less freaky!

The MV Rena

While many ghost ships sail the seas, others perpetually haunt the shores by running aground and becoming cursed looking shipwrecks. Chillingly, that was the exact fate that befell the MV Rena back in 2011. Rushing to get to the New Zealand port, the crew of the 774 ft container ship decided to take a few shortcuts in order to meet their deadline.

Ignoring basic navigation practices, they deviated from their course and went full steam ahead, accidently grounding themselves on the Astrolabe Reef in the idiotic process. At the time, New Zealand had no equipment capable of reaching the ship where it was, but that wasn’t the worst part.

Around 1,900 tons of fuel oil from the ship started to leak into the sea. Just 4 days after it grounded, a 3.1-mile tide of black oil was choking and drowning New Zealand’s sea life. It was quickly declared the country’s worst maritime environmental disaster in history, and authorities tried their best to salvage what they could of the ship!

But the Rena wasn’t done yet. Pressure from the waves began breaking the ship in two, causing nearly 90 of its massive steel containers to plunge into the water. And as she split like some sort of terrifying omen, the waves around her suddenly bloomed ghostly blue. Though it looked like a curse, it was actually the ship’s cargo of milk powder rupturing and dissolving into the sea.

Eventually, in early 2012, the bow and aft sections split completely, and continued their very slow descent beneath the waves. Authorities continued their efforts to salvage as much of the ship as possible before it was lost to the sea forever, with more than 24,000 tons of debris also removed from the seabed.

MV Rena - Timelapse by helicopterservices

New Zealand clearly wanted all reminders of that utter catastrophe to be dredged from its ocean. But with huge swathes of the ship still haunting the ocean floor, it’s unlikely they’ll ever be rid of the memories of that cursed voyage.

The SS American Star

Now, most of the ships we have learned about forlorn amidst the waves have been freighters or cargo ships, but the SS American Star was a different vessel all together. Built in the 1940’s as an ocean liner, she carried seven different names in her phenomenal 54 year career, including the SS America, SS Italis, and USS West Point.

In 1993, she was sold to a Thai company who had big ambitions of returning her to her 1940’s glory and preserving her as a huge, 5 star hotel off the coast of Phuket. But as the SS American Star began the 100 day tow from her dock in Greece to her new home in Thailand, disaster struck.

A huge thunderstorm over the Atlantic stirred up some savage seas. Thrown about by the waves, the gigantic ocean liner’s towing ropes snapped off! Unable to re-attach them, the ship ran aground off the coast of Fuerteventura Island. Unfortunately, the angle she’d hit made it impossible to rescue or salvage her.

In 48 hours, the relentless pounding of the waves had snapped the old ship clean in two. Stranded and abandoned, the stern section of the ship became warped and sank beneath the waves in less than a year.

SS American Star shipwreck in 1994 by Matthew Cox

But the bow, on the other hand, sat forlornly on the coast until it too slowly submitted to the sea, finally disappearing beneath the waves in 2010. Though the ship may be gone, her iconic and tragic legacy is far from forgotten!

The Mary Celeste

The tale of the Mary Celeste is chilling enough to make even the strongest of sailors cry for their mommies. In 1872, the brigantine ship was discovered drifting 400 miles off the shores of the Azores.

The crew’s personal belongings were still in their quarters and their cargo of 1,701 barrels of industrial alcohol was mostly intact, along with a 6 month supply of food and water. But there wasn’t a single soul aboard to consume it.

The ship’s only lifeboat was missing, presumably carrying the 10 members of the crew, including captain Benjamin Briggs’ wife and young daughter, out into the open ocean. Tragically, they were never seen, or heard from, ever again.

The mysterious event gave birth to one of the most durable ghost stories in maritime history, and even to this day researchers are trying to uncover why exactly the crew abandoned the ship! One theory is that pirates may have taken it over, although that seems unlikely seeing as all the cargo was still in its place.

Perhaps the crew had mutinied while drunk on the hearty supply of booze! But if that were the case, why would they abandon the ship and choose to face certain doom on a tiny lifeboat? There’s one theory that doesn’t sound all that crazy, which comes down to the state of the ship.

When it was first discovered, the cargo hold was reportedly submerged in 3½ ft of seawater, and the rest of the ship was thoroughly waterlogged. Although, it was still sailable, as proven by the fact a rescue boat was able to tow the abandoned ship all the way to Gibraltar.

On top of that, one of the ship’s pumps had been disassembled on the deck, apparently taken apart by the crew before they vanished. It appeared that the ship had previously undergone some repairs which had clogged the pumps with saw and coaldust. But without the pump, Captain Brigg’s wouldn’t have known just how much water the ship was actually taking on.

Afraid for the life of his wife and child, and without any way of telling whether or not the ship would sink, it’s possible Captain Briggs pre-emptively gave the order to abandon ship. Sadly, the world will never know for sure what happened to that unfortunate crew, but the fame of its mystery will live on in ghost stories forever!

The MV Alta

As Storm Dennis battered the Irish coast in February 2020, the coastal residents of County Cork were left soggy and stunned when a colossal cargo vessel suddenly washed up on their shores. It was rusted and battered beyond belief, and though it had managed to stay afloat in such a treacherous storm, the 250 ft ship was eerily devoid of any crew.

When investigators peered about the rusted wreck, they found no sign’s of life, but they did discover the mystery ships name: The MV Alta. That left investigators with their jaws on the floor, because the MV Alta had gone missing on the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean over a year before!

It had been on a trip from Greece to Haiti when it’s engines suddenly failed almost 1,380 miles off the coast of Bermuda. Unable to make the proper repairs, the 10 strong crew realized they had no choice but to abandon ship. They were rescued by the US coast guard, who called the boat’s owner to have it towed to shore.

However, when the tug hit Guyana, the vessel was heinously hijacked! After that, its fate remained unknown, until September 2019 when an ice patrol ship encountered it bobbing about helplessly in the Mid Atlantic.

The ocean currents then dragged the vessel up past the coasts of Africa and Spain where it was eventually beached on the rocky ridges of Ireland.

The USS Oriskany

Our next ship may not have been left sailing absently over the high seas, but the sheer size of its final send off is guaranteed to send chills down your spine. The USS Oriskany was an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was launched all the way back in 1945. She was affectionately referred to as ‘The Mighty O’, and with very good reason!

At a staggering 911 ft long, she was capable of carrying up to 82 aircraft, and played a vital role during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Then after almost 50 faithful years of service, she was sold for scrapping in June 1994. After she was broken down to her bare, steely bones, the question of what to do with her rusted remains lingered!

The Navy’s best brains put their thinking caps on, and after receiving the go-ahead from the environmental protection agency, they decided to sink her into the Gulf of Mexico. That wasn’t for any kind of target practice though! She was going to become the largest ship ever intentionally sunk in the world in order to become an artificial reef.

In May 2006, she was towed out 24 miles from the shores of Pensacola and loaded up with approximately 500 lbs of C4 explosive. The detonation was deafening, and 37 minutes later, the ‘Mighty O’ sank into the mighty sea!

Diving The USS Oriskany - 30th of October 2018 by Ryan Cook

Today, she sits 214 ft below the waves, and where she used to ferry sea faring sailors, she now supports an entire underwater ecosystem of corals, plants, and fish!

The Ghost Yacht

In April 2007, a three man crew boarded a catamaran bound for Western Australia and prepared to set sail on the trip of a lifetime. Des Batten and, brothers, Peter, and John Tunstead were ready for a two month adventure filled with endless sun and sea! But their yacht, The Kaz II, was found drifting 100 miles from shore just five days later without a single soul on board.

The engine was idling, a half drunk cup of coffee was sat on the table, and a laptop in the main cabin was still running. And, more worryingly, all the life jackets were still on board. It was as if they’d just vanished into thin air! The boat itself was in good condition, although one sail had been completely shredded.

Afraid they’d ended up overboard, a huge search and rescue operation was launched. Tragically though, no trace of the men was ever found. In a desperate search for clues, a forensic investigation went over the yacht with a fine tooth comb. And in their search, they came across a harrowing video.

It was a recording of the last time any of them had been seen alive; the morning they’d set sail. They were all laughing and fishing, but then, worryingly, they mentioned how the blue skies ahead had suddenly turned threatening.

Gut-wrenching as it was, there were suggestions that the men had staged the disappearance for insurance purposes! But coroner reports later concluded that a series of freak accidents were ultimately to blame.

It seemed that one of the brothers had fallen into the water after trying to free a fishing line caught on the yachts propellor. The other brother then fell in trying to rescue him. Desperate to save his friends, Batten then tried to turn the ship around, but a sudden wind caused the yacht’s boom to swing and knock him overboard too!

That would have meant all three men were stranded in the water while the yacht sped away from them, along wretchedly with any possibility of ever being rescued.

The Tai Ching 21

The idea of being hopelessly lost at sea is terrifying enough on its own, but for the crew of the Tai Ching 21, it was only the beginning. In 2008, the gutted husk of the tiny fishing vessel was discovered floating off the coast of the island of Kiribati. The 50 ton boat was completely abandoned, with huge portions of it badly burned and charred.

The stomachs of investigators sank as they realized that a large fire must have broken out on board. As the flames raged, the 29 crew members and their captain were forced to choose between being burned alive or braving the vast open ocean in the ship’s life rafts.

But what was worse was that the shell of the boat was no longer smoking, indicating the fire had forced the sailors out several days before at least! It turned out that the last radio transmission received from the vessel was on October 28th, but the burned remains were found on November 9th.

If they were alive, they could have been at sea for almost 2 weeks, meaning any food or water they’d salvaged had probably run out long before! There was absolutely no time to lose, and a rescue effort was soon underway.

US and New Zealand Air force crews took to the skies while the Fijian Navy searched the seas, scouring over 21,000 square miles of empty ocean. But 30 hours later, there was still no sign of the captain or the crew. As the teams slowly came to terms with the situation, the sun faded on the rescue mission, along with any hope of ever finding the crew alive.

The Lyubov Orlova

While the fate of disappeared crews cements many vessels in ghost ship lore, the Lyubov Orlova is regaled for another reason it’s sheer size.

At a staggering 720 ft long, weighing 1,565 tons, that incredibly sized arctic cruise ship was hard to miss. It was a soviet queen of the seas back in the 1970’s, but spiraling maintenance costs and bad management slowly saw it transform from a cruise ship to a ghost ship.

In 2011, a Canadian inspection report uncovered a staggering host of problems with the old queen from burst pipes and mold, to rat infestations and severe structural damage. Unable to cover the cost of the repairs and dock fees she’d racked up; the ship was sold for its scrappage to Neptune Shipping Company. But she stayed in the harbor another year, decaying even further.

Eventually in January 2013, the sorry state of a ship was hitched up to a tugboat, destined to be towed out to a Dominican Republic scrapyard. Except the Lyubov had other plans! A day after leaving the dock, the ship’s tow rope broke, leaving it adrift. The crew tried desperately to re-connect the lines, but strong winds and stormy weather meant they came away empty handed.

It’s responsibility then fell to its official owners, Neptune, but they failed to put any kind of rescue plan into place! Afraid it would collide with the Hibernia oil platform, Canadian authorities sailed to the rescue and briefly gained control of the vessel, but the tow lines to the old girl snapped again.

The perilous state of the sea made it impossible to re-attach the cables, so the decision was made to leave it stranded in international waters. And from there, it mysteriously vanished. For weeks, no one caught a glimpse of the 1,500 ton ocean liner in the stormy north seas!

Many assumed that she’d sank almost immediately, but at the end of February she was spotted drifting eerily 1,500 miles off the Irish coast. From there it was reportedly heading towards Europe, but, unnervingly, she hasn’t been seen since.

I hope you were amazed at these real ghost ships! Thanks for reading.