Could message in a bottle that washed up on Aran Islands be linked to ship crew that went missing?
While messages in a bottle are nothing new, some have washed up recently with sweet messages; from containing a sweet love story that washed up in Kerry after 13 years, to a man's ashes who was on a worldwide journey that appeared in Australia.
However, one person who was on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands may have uncovered an unsettling mystery after a bottle washed up on the coast, with a message being inside. A message in a bottle that washed up on the Aran Islands could be linked to a ship crew that went missing over four years ago. Pic: Reddit
The bottle was sealed with a cork and wax, and after eventually being able to open it by smashing it, the message — which was in Indonesian — said that there were three people injured and stranded on an island that wasn't specified.
The bottom of the note read 'Yu Sing 18' and after some people Googled Yu Sing missing, they found a news story of an identically named ship that went missing on the Pacific Ocean over five years ago.
'Wow. If you look it up there are quite a few news articles,' one person wrote on the Beach Combing subreddit where the initial discovery was found. 'There's also a Wikipedia and nothing (I can find) saying anyone from the ship was found.' The message, which was written in what is believed to be Indonesian with a Chinese character, may have been linked to the crew of a stricken Taiwanese vessel over four years ago. Pic: Reddit
'If this ends up being real and not a prank, maybe the right people would be able to use the location the bottle was found, where Yu Sing took off from/where they were trying to go and our knowledge of ocean currents to figure out what island they might be stranded on,' another added, while the person who discovered it said that they were handing it in to authorities.
The commercial Taiwanese tuna longliner was reported missing on January 1, 2021 after the captain, surnamed Li (which was also written on the note) lost contact with the boat's owner. The vessel was reportedly found following an American search and rescue mission, but a life raft and the crew were missing.
The ship was towed back with sustained damage, with people reckoning that such a message washing up in Ireland is definitely not a prank. However, some people believe that due to the timeline, hopes that the crew will be found alive are slim. While nothing's been confirmed or denied, many believe that it could be linked to the crew who were never found. Pic: Reddit
'It's most likely that the crew are dead since it's been so long and according to the note they were injured,' one person commented, while another added 'It's been 5 years they're dead. But maybe the bodies can be found and returned to the families.'
'Not to sound like joyless fun police but honestly idk how someone would do this as a joke,' another person commented. 'Real people with entire lives and family members and friends that miss them are still gone and making a fake SOS message in a bottle is… a choice.'
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