Malaysia detains Chinese ship suspected of looting British WW2 wrecks

[third eye]

Malaysia has detained a Chinese-registered vessel suspected of looting two British World War Two shipwrecks.
The bulk carrier was seized on Sunday for anchoring illegally at the site in the South China Sea.

Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago, was then found on board.

The UK Ministry of Defence had earlier condemned the alleged raid as a "desecration" of maritime war graves.
Old shipwrecks are targeted by scavengers for their rare low-background steel, also known as "pre-war steel". The low radiation in the steel makes it a rare and valuable resource for use in medical and scientific equipment.
The British vessels, on the bed of the ocean some 100km (60 miles) off the east coast of Malaysia, had been targeted for decades.

The Royal Navy battleships were dispatched to Singapore during the war to shore up the defence of Malaya. They were sunk by Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941.

The strike - which occurred just three days after the attack on the US fleet in Pearl Harbour - killed some 842 sailors and is considered one of the worst disasters in British naval history.

The HMS Repulse was sunk by Japanese forces in 1941

Fishermen and divers first reported the presence of the foreign vessel to Malaysia authorities last month.
Local maritime police detained the Chinese ship on Sunday. The ship, registered in Fuzhou, had 32 crew on board, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement.

Cannon shells "suspected to be from World War Two" were uncovered during a search of the vessel. Malaysian agencies are also investigating the provenance of the ammunition.

The MMEA added that it is linked to a cache of unexploded artillery, said to be from the two sunken vessels, that police seized from a private scrap yard in the southern state of Johor earlier this month.

In 2017, during a tour of Malaysia, a local diver showed the then Prince Charles images that documented damage to the HMS Prince of Wales inflicted by scavengers.
The Defence Secretary at the time responded by saying the UK would work with Malaysian and Indonesian governments to investigate claims that up to six British warships had been plundered in their waters.

Malaysia detains Chinese ship suspected of looting British WW2 wrecks

Malaysia says it has detained a Chinese vessel suspected of raiding two British maritime war graves.

www.bbc.com

 

[Kuru]

First Malaysia seizes PIA plane and then captures a Chinese ship. This is not acceptable on PDF.

The bulk carrier was seized on Sunday for anchoring illegally at the site in the South China Sea.

Malaysia detained a Chinese ship in a territory claimed by China?

 

[renhai]

，

First Malaysia seizes PIA plane and then captures a Chinese ship. This is not acceptable on PDF.



Malaysia detained a Chinese ship in a territory claimed by China?

But what does this have to do with the former British colonies?

 

[Kuru]

，
But what does this have to do with the former British colonies?

What makes you think I’m in Hong Kong?

 

[renhai]

What makes you think I’m in Hong Kong?

I thought you were in India now.

 

[lcloo]

A Malaysian company hired a Chinese registered ship savaged a suspected British WW2 cruiser wreck in Malaysian EEZ water 70 miles off the coast of Kuantan.

This part of South China Sea is not disputed water.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I'm sure it has to do with this

Low-background steel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Low-background steel, also known as pre-war steel, is any steel produced prior to the detonation of the first nuclear bombs in the 1940s and 1950s. Typically sourced from ships (either as part of regular scrapping or shipwrecks) and other steel artifacts of this era, it is often used for modern particle detectors because more modern steel is contaminated with traces of nuclear fallout.[1][2]

Since the end of atmospheric nuclear testing, background radiation has decreased to very near natural levels,[3] making special low-background steel no longer necessary for most radiation-sensitive applications, as brand-new steel now has a low enough radioactive signature that it can generally be used in such applications.[4] However, some demand remains for the most radiation-sensitive applications, such as Geiger counters and sensing equipment aboard spacecraft. For the most demanding applications even low-background steel can be too radioactive and other materials like high purity copper may be used.[2]

In cases where World War II-era shipwrecks in and near the relatively shallow Java Sea and western South China Sea that have been illegally scavenged it has been suggested that the target is low-background steel.[5] Andrew Brockman, a maritime crime researcher and archaeologist, argues that its more likely to be conventional salvage

 

[Nan Yang]

Malaysia has detained a Chinese-registered vessel suspected of looting two British World War Two shipwrecks.
The bulk carrier was seized on Sunday for anchoring illegally at the site in the South China Sea.

Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago, was then found on board.

The UK Ministry of Defence had earlier condemned the alleged raid as a "desecration" of maritime war graves.
Old shipwrecks are targeted by scavengers for their rare low-background steel, also known as "pre-war steel". The low radiation in the steel makes it a rare and valuable resource for use in medical and scientific equipment.
The British vessels, on the bed of the ocean some 100km (60 miles) off the east coast of Malaysia, had been targeted for decades.

The Royal Navy battleships were dispatched to Singapore during the war to shore up the defence of Malaya. They were sunk by Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941.

The strike - which occurred just three days after the attack on the US fleet in Pearl Harbour - killed some 842 sailors and is considered one of the worst disasters in British naval history.

The HMS Repulse was sunk by Japanese forces in 1941

Fishermen and divers first reported the presence of the foreign vessel to Malaysia authorities last month.
Local maritime police detained the Chinese ship on Sunday. The ship, registered in Fuzhou, had 32 crew on board, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement.

Cannon shells "suspected to be from World War Two" were uncovered during a search of the vessel. Malaysian agencies are also investigating the provenance of the ammunition.

The MMEA added that it is linked to a cache of unexploded artillery, said to be from the two sunken vessels, that police seized from a private scrap yard in the southern state of Johor earlier this month.

In 2017, during a tour of Malaysia, a local diver showed the then Prince Charles images that documented damage to the HMS Prince of Wales inflicted by scavengers.
The Defence Secretary at the time responded by saying the UK would work with Malaysian and Indonesian governments to investigate claims that up to six British warships had been plundered in their waters.

Malaysia detains Chinese ship suspected of looting British WW2 wrecks

Malaysia says it has detained a Chinese vessel suspected of raiding two British maritime war graves.

www.bbc.com

Errrr.... Not Quite Yet more dis-information.

1. The seized Chinese-registered ship, suspected of illegally salvaging WWII salvage, was operated by a Malaysian company, the Chinese Embassy claims.

I'm sure it has to do with this

Low-background steel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Low-background steel, also known as pre-war steel, is any steel produced prior to the detonation of the first nuclear bombs in the 1940s and 1950s. Typically sourced from ships (either as part of regular scrapping or shipwrecks) and other steel artifacts of this era, it is often used for modern particle detectors because more modern steel is contaminated with traces of nuclear fallout.[1][2]

Since the end of atmospheric nuclear testing, background radiation has decreased to very near natural levels,[3] making special low-background steel no longer necessary for most radiation-sensitive applications, as brand-new steel now has a low enough radioactive signature that it can generally be used in such applications.[4] However, some demand remains for the most radiation-sensitive applications, such as Geiger counters and sensing equipment aboard spacecraft. For the most demanding applications even low-background steel can be too radioactive and other materials like high purity copper may be used.[2]

In cases where World War II-era shipwrecks in and near the relatively shallow Java Sea and western South China Sea that have been illegally scavenged it has been suggested that the target is low-background steel.[5] Andrew Brockman, a maritime crime researcher and archaeologist, argues that its more likely to be conventional salvage

Ever wonder where the steel was originally from ? Perhaps stolen from British colonies ? We are just stealing it back.

 

[Battlion25]

savaged a suspected British WW2 cruiser wreck in Malaysian EEZ water 70 miles off the coast of Kuantan.

This part of South China Sea is not disputed water.

The savaged part is kind of hilarious