- CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters)
- Australian police said on Tuesday they were baffled by the discovery
of a ghost ship full of rotting fish -- but no crew or life rafts -- drifting
off the remote northwest coast of Australia.
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- The 65-foot High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying
an Indonesian flag, was intercepted and boarded by the Australian navy
last week about 185 miles west of the fishing port of Broome after it was
spotted drifting aimlessly.
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- A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors,
life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tons of rotting mackerel
and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fisherman,
not people smugglers.
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- "There weren't any indications on board that anything
untoward had happened. The conditions on board were quite good," a
spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police in Perth told Reuters.
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- She said the long-line fishing boat, which would have
a crew of around 12, appeared well-equipped and seaworthy.
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- The weather in the area has been calm for weeks.
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- Police have launched an international investigation in
a bid to track down the owners or crew of the boat.
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- "The only factor we have to work with at the moment
is the fact that it is Taiwanese-owned, so we'll be going to the owners
to try to learn a little bit more about the crew and a little bit more
about the history of the vessel's passage to this point," the police
spokeswoman said.
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