CHINESE SHIP ACCUSED OF LOOTING FROM BRITISH SECOND WORLD WAR SHIPWRECKS

A Chinese ship has been been detained on suspicion of looting two British Second World War wrecks containing precious uncontaminated steel.

Malaysian authorities have opened an investigation into a Chinese-registered ship they say was likely behind the ransacking of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales in the South China Sea.

The ships were sunk by Japanese long-range torpedo bombers in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, resulting in the loss of 842 lives.

The pre-war steel in the wrecks is much sought-after, as it is not contaminated with traces of nuclear fallout from the manufacturing process, which uses atmospheric gas.

Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) began the case after fishermen and divers reported suspicious activities by a foreign vessel off the eastern coast of the south-east Asian nation, near the site of the wrecks.

The agency said it had later found cannon shells believed to be from the war on a bulk carrier ship registered in Fuzhou, China, and carrying 32, mainly Chinese, crew. The ship was detained over the weekend for anchoring in Malaysian waters without permission.

The wrecks off the coast of central Pahang state are designated war graves. The captain of the ship has been taken into custody while the National Heritage Department investigates the origins of the shells and scrap metal found on board.

Pictures and a video released by the maritime agency showed the carrier with a large crane and heaps of rusty metal on board.

Pre-war steel from the two warships is lucrative, as it could be smelted for use in manufacturing of some scientific and medical equipment.

Known also as “low-background” steel, it was produced before the detonation of the first nuclear bombs in the 1940s and 50s. It does not contain radionuclides, such as cobalt-60, which give a weak radioactive signature, and it is ideal for radiation-sensitive devices like Geiger counters or sensing equipment on spacecraft.

The unique metal has made sunken warships prime targets for illegal scavengers. Both HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales, as well as other ships resting beneath the South China Sea, have been plundered in the past.

“We strongly condemn any desecration of any maritime military grave,” a Ministry of Defence spokesman told The Telegraph. 

“Where we have evidence of desecration of the wrecks of Royal Navy vessels, we will take appropriate action, including working with regional Governments and partners to prevent inappropriate activity at such sites.”

The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth last week said it was “distressed and concerned at the apparent vandalism for personal profit”.

First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria, from the MMEA’s division in Johor, where the ship was detained, told the New Straits Times that the authorities were investigating whether there was a “mothership” anchored outside Malaysian waters, where the vessel may have offloaded stolen items.

Last week, the newspaper reported that scavengers who previously “cannibalised” sunken wrecks had returned after an eight-year hiatus. 

It said that in 2015, groups of foreign “treasure hunters” used home-made explosives to detonate the heavy steel plates of the ships for easy pickings, but were stopped by the Royal Malaysian Navy and the MMEA.

Hazz Zain, a local professional diver who has explored the wrecks, said she reported the return of a suspicious dredger to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur last week.

She said that in 2017, when she showed videos of the wrecks to the King when he visited Penang as the Prince of Wales, he “looked upset” as the ships appeared to already be 60-70 per cent illegally salvaged.

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2023-05-30T13:31:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd