JIN SHUI YUAN 2

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Course/Position

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Ghost ship suspected to have been involved in illegal fuel transport

The 'Jin Shui Yuan 2' which was found abandoned and listing in the Gulf of Thailand near Chevron's offshore oil rigs some 100 nautical miles off the Songkhla coastline, might have been an illegal oil tanker distributing oil to various countries. She was reported by staff at an oil rig off the coast of the southern province Songkhla on Jan 8, 2022. No one was onboard the ship, and, apparently, no documents or registration numbers were on the vessel either. Only the ship’s name indicated that it was of Chinese origin. The Royal Thai Navy attempted to pull the vessel to the shore of Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Sichon district, but strong winds caused the ship to take on water and sink in the night of Jan 8. The authorities from the Second Naval Area Command were on standby, monitoring the engine oil and making preparations to handle any problems that might arise from the wreck. It was suspected that the ship travelled along national water to distribute illegal oil to different countries, including the southern part of Thailand. The ship might have been operating for a long period of time without proper maintenance and having difficulties to find somewhere to dock for repairs. A Chinese vessel registered as 'Jin Shui Yuan 2' was last reported in 2020 with the last position transmitted in November 2020 in the East China Sea. There will be a further investigation on the vessel’s nationality, where it came from, and find out whether it was illegal or not. Thailand will ask for international cooperation from Singapore and the USA to gather more information and details of the ship. The wreck was not a hazard to maritime traffic and poses no risk to the environment. The amount of oil leaking out of the wreckage was not significant and was expected to dissipate in a few days. Buoys have been placed in the area to warn local traffic of the wreckage about 28 nautical miles off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Reports with photos: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/mysterious-ghost-ship-might-have-been-an-illegal-oil-tanker-expert-says https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2245179/shipwreck-no-threat-to-traffic-environment