The Chinese ship suspected of raiding the remnants of the Second World War is arrested

MV Chaun Hong 68 before being arrested by Malaysian authorities on 1 July 2024. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency photo

The Chinese dredger suspected of looting two Royal Navy World War II destroyers last year has been detained by Malaysian maritime authorities.

MV 68. Chuan Hongand the entire crew is being held for document violations, including port clearances and having 60 unregistered LPG containers on board rather than illegal cleaning, according to a report in Naval Executive.

But the bigger question being raised by Southeast Asian news media and investigated by local authorities is how a ship like 68. Chuan Hong with its bad reputation going back years, to even be allowed back into Malaysian waters.

Kuala Lampur New Straits Times Malaysian investigators are reportedly looking into why and by what means Chuan Hong 68 was given permission to carry out rescue operations in MV Armada in February and a sloop identified as Maritime Fidelity in September last year, both off Johor.

Excavators suspected the looting of two warships for its steel, aluminum and bronze equipment took place in May 2023. Since these metals were produced before the use and testing of nuclear weapons, they are considered highly valuable in highly specialized manufacturing.

During the dormitory in May 2023 ofChuan Hong 68, inspectors found rusted artillery shells and other debris that likely came from the two warships. Shortly after that boarding, Malaysian authorities confiscated two cannons, more ammunition and other objects at a junkyard that also likely came from sunken warships.

Malaysian authorities detain the crew of MV Chaun Hong 68 on July 1, 2024. Photo by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

The newspaper account said both notices to sailors that rescue operations were underway had been deleted from the country's maritime posting website. These notices are also guidance to authorities as to which vessels are operating in their territorial waters.

local police, Department of National Heritage Malaysia and its Maritime Enforcement Agency and Department of the Navy are also participating in the investigation of how the permits were issued and their purge from the website.

In May last year, before the second rescue operations began, Malaysian authorities arrested68. Chuan Hong in the same waters for allegedly crushing and removing the wreckage of the Royal Navy battleship HMSPrince of Walesand battleship HMSRepulsionreported USNI News.

Both were sunk by Japanese bombers during the invasion of the Malay Peninsula in December 1941, days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The USNI News account noted that the illegal salvage operation in Malaysia showed how vulnerable historic heritage sites are to thieves aiming to loot war graves,the director general of the Royal Navy Museum said in a statement.

The Royal Navy called the clearing of the historic wreck site a disgrace. Eight hundred and forty crew members lost their lives in the attack carried out by the Japanese bombers.

USNI News reported six years ago that the UK Ministry of Defense was so concerned about the illegal excavation of wreck sites, scavenging and looting that it sent a task force of survey vessels to the region to investigate the status of the wreck. . The ministry said it would also monitor the water by satellite to keep track of activity near the sites.

Southeast Asian news media are reporting this week 68. Chuan Hong he is also suspected of illegally salvaging sunken Dutch warships in Indonesia in the Java Sea, as well as in Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Malaysian authorities have not released an update on the case in the 12 months that have passed since the alleged tracking of two Royal Navy ships. The New Stairs Times also reported 68. Chuan Honghas repeatedly returned to the same operational area northeast of the Singapore Strait, often disappearing from the Maritime Automatic Identification System for weeks at a time.

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