Ship detained after British warships sunk in WWII looted 'for personal profit'
A China-registered bulk carrier ship detained for anchoring illegally in the waters of Malaysia
(Image: AP )
Two British warships destroyed during World War II and now designated as war graves are believed to have been looted by
Chinese
-affiliated ships looking for valuable manufacturing materials. Malaysias maritime agency said on Monday it found a cannon shell believed to be from World War II on a Chinese-registered vessel they had detained the previous day for anchoring without a permit off the southern Johor state, roughly 350 miles from the British warship wrecks in the South China Sea.
A total of 842 sailors perished during the sinking of those two warships. The shipwrecks off the coast of central Pahang state are designated war graves.
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The maritime agency said it detained the vessel registered in Fuzhou, China, on Sunday (May 28). It said there were 32 crew members aboard, including 21 Chinese, 10 from Bangladesh and a Malaysian.
The agency said officials from the National Heritage Department and others will work together to identify the cannon shell.
Britains National Museum of the Royal Navy last week said it was "distressed and concerned at the apparent vandalism for personal profit".
The maritime agency said it believed the rusty cannon shell was linked to the police seizure of dozens of unexploded artillery and other relics at a private scrapyard in Johor.
Malaysia said it found a cannon shell on a Chinese-registered vessel on Monday
(Image: AP )
The New Straits Times newspaper reported that the ammunition were believed to be from the warships and that police conducted an on-site controlled explosion of the weapons.
Pictures and a video released by the agency showed a barge carrier with a large crane and heaps of rusty metal on board.
Known as pre-war steel, the material from the two warships is valuable and could be smelted for use in manufacturing of some scientific and medical equipment.
Fishermen and divers alerted authorities after spotting a foreign vessel near the area last month.
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It was not the first time that the two shipwrecks were targeted.
The New Straits Times reported that foreign treasure hunters used homemade explosives in 2015 to detonate the heavy steel plates on the ships for easy pickings.
Other media said authorities detained a Vietnamese vessel involved in the looting of the wreckage at the time.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 8:29 am