A rusty vessel, Sam Ratulangi PB 1600, was discovered adrift near Rangoon, Burma, after nine years missing.
Initially assumed abandoned, five fishermen boarded the ship hoping to claim salvage rights, prompting an investigation. Authorities found cables attached to the ship’s bow, linking it to a tugboat, *Independence*, located 80 kilometers away.
The tugboat crew revealed they had been towing the ship to a Bangladeshi scrapyard but abandoned it after bad weather severed the towing cables. The ship drifted ashore, ending its mysterious journey. Bangladesh remains a global hub for shipbreaking, dismantling hundreds of vessels annually.
