Malaysia’s maritime authorities on Monday mentioned cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been discovered on a China-registered bulk service ship detained on the weekend for anchoring in its waters with out permission.
The discovery comes amid stories this month that scavengers have focused two British World War Two wrecks off the coast of Malaysia – the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse – which had been sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1941, simply three days after the devastating assault on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Following stories of the unlawful salvage exercise, Britain’s National Museum of the Royal Navy final week mentioned it was “distressed and concerned at the apparent vandalism for personal profit” of the 2 wrecks.
The protection ministry condemned “desecration” of maritime army graves, the BBC mentioned on Saturday.
A ship registered in Fuzhou, China and carrying 32 crew did not current anchoring permits throughout a routine inspection in waters off Malaysia’s southern Johor state on Sunday, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) mentioned.
Authorities discovered scrap steel and cannon shells on the ship upon additional checks.
The shells may very well be linked to a separate seizure by police at a Johor jetty final week of a number of unexploded World War Two-era artillery.
Authorities imagine these could have been scavenged from the HMS Prince of Wales, the MMEA mentioned, including it was working with Malaysia’s National Heritage Department and different businesses to establish the ammunition discovered.
(Reuters – Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Martin Petty)
