An Actual 'Ghost Ship' Has Washed Up In Japan And It's Terrifying

A 23-foot long wooden fishing boat washed up on the shores of the city of Oga, Japan, on Sunday November 26 containing the partially skeletonised remains of 8 people. The scary thing is, this is just one of a recent series of ghost-ship scenarios to reach the Japanese archipelago.

Thought to be arriving from North Korea, a plethora of fishing boats have begun to drift into Japanese waters of late, sometimes with their fishermen alive – but oftentimes sadly not.

On Friday November 24, a similar boat carrying 8 men who claim to be North Korean fishermen was found at the marina in the coastal city of Yurihonjo. Thankfully these men were healthy enough to walk unaided, whereas Sunday’s incident did not see such a hopeful ending.

It is said the vessel carrying the men who sadly perished at sea was missing both a rotor blade and navigational devices. This tends to be the case with North Korean fishing boats and, of course, increases the risk of tragic outcomes.

According to the BBC, Japan sees these types of castaway occurrences regularly due to the immense seafood quotas North Korea implements. Hunger and famine is rampant in the communist country, leading to unreasonable quotas for its fishermen. They are forced to sail out further than they should (often in less-than-safe ships) to try and find more fish to bring home.

About the author

India Irving

Social Media Editor

Born and raised in LA, India studied Drama at the University of Southern California before shifting her focus to the visual arts. After moving to London in 2013, she co-founded the iOS app ArtAttack which focused on connecting emerging artistic talent with galleries and collectors. Following that she worked at Albany Arts Communications, a boutique Art PR firm in Fitzrovia before joining Culture Trip. Aside from art and theatre, India's other passions include travel, food, books and dance.