Why do ghost ships often appear in Japan? Last year, a record number of ghost ships were found off the coast of Japan. What happened to a large number of ghost ships in Japan?
What happened to a large number of ghost ships in Japan
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, 95 ghost ships have been found in Japanese territorial waters so far in 2018. In the same period last year, the number was 59, compared with 104 for the whole year. Most of these ships appear in the waters of Northwest Japan, presumably from the Korean Peninsula. According to Yomiuri Shimbun, most of the ghost ships have no crew, or only carry corpses or even bones. Japan has found a total of 12 corpses on five of them. The latest ghost ship, a wooden fishing boat about 15 meters long, was found in the northern waters of Hokkaido on November 1.
Due to monsoon and other factors, more ghost ships are often pushed to Japan in autumn and winter. In addition, since this year, about 80% of ghost ships have appeared near the northernmost island of Hokkaido.
The influx of ghost ships raised safety concerns. Last year, the coast guard found about 30 bodies and 40 survivors on board. The Japanese authorities have stepped up their patrols as the number of ships has increased dramatically in recent years.