60 years ago, one of the most mysterious stories of the last century took place in navigation
No one understands where the people from Urang Medan disappeared
On that day, several British radio stations in Singapore and Sumatra received a distress signal from the Dutch steamer Urang Medan: "SOS … SOS … Everyone died … Perhaps I was the only one alive …" Then came some kind of gibberish from a series of dots and dashes. And then again, clearly: "I'm dying." Then there was an ominous silence. The rescuers found the ship in the Strait of Malacca, about 80 kilometers from the place of its last broadcast. The newspapers later described the terrible sight seen by people who boarded the ship. The captain was lying on the bridge, the rest of the officers and sailors were in the helm and navigational rooms, in the wardroom, at his workplace was also a dead radio operator, who, obviously, gave a distress signal. Even the ship's dog was dead. The animal's face was bared, and the faces of the people were frozen in horror. But no one had any wounds on their bodies,nor any damage. The attack of pirates was excluded, because all the valuables were in place.
And this is not the only disaster of this kind in the 20th century
In 1955, an American yacht MV Elita was seen in the Pacific Ocean without a trace of the crew, but with a full supply of water, food and intact life-saving equipment.
In a similar state, five years later, two British yachts were noticed in the Atlantic. In 1970, a team mysteriously disappeared from the British bulk carrier Milton. In 1973, the Norwegian fishing "Anna" was wrecked - there were witnesses of her death from other ships, who said that the crew was absent on deck. The list goes on …
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Voice of the sea
Similar events took place before the twentieth century - just remember the story of the famous "Maria Celesta". What caused them? Until now, no one can give an answer to this question. But back in 1937, one of the most reasonable versions was proposed by the Soviet hydrophysicist Vladimir Shuleikin. Passing through the Kara Sea on the Taimyr hydrographic vessel, one of the specialists drew attention to the fact that when he brought a balloon filled with hydrogen closer to his ear, he felt a sharp pain in the eardrum. I pushed the ball away - the pain was gone. Vladimir Shuleikin was on the same ship. He became interested in a strange phenomenon and soon published an article in which he argued that the wind blowing over the crests of the waves of a stormy sea excites in the air low-frequency infrasonic vibrations that are not audible to our ears, which are very harmful to humans. Moreover, at a frequency below 15 hertz, the effect increases: not only the eardrum suffers, but also a disorder of the brain centers, such as vision, occurs, and at a frequency below 7 hertz, under certain conditions, people die.
In other words, somewhere a storm is raging, a generator appears there - a source of infrasound, the waves of which travel very far. It was the observer on the Taimyr that managed to “hear” thanks to the shell filled with hydrogen, which became a resonator of these infrasonic vibrations, painful for the human ear. Vladimir Shuleikin called this effect “the voice of the sea”.
Deadly sound wave
When studying the physiological effect of high-intensity infrasound on a living organism, amazing phenomena were discovered. Animals feel anxious, unreasonable fear. This is also confirmed by volunteer researchers who have been in experimental infrasound chambers.
As the experiments of the French professor Gavreau have shown, infrasound with a frequency of 7 Hz is fatal to the body. And during a storm in the sea, infrasound is generated with a frequency of about 6 Hz. If the intensity of the vibrations is less than lethal, a wave of unreasonable fear and horror falls on people. This condition is intensified even more if the ship's hull or masts get into resonance and become, as it were, a secondary source of infrasound, under the influence of which the distraught crew leaves the ship in panic. It is not for nothing that many of these ships have broken masts, although weather reports indicate that there are no strong winds in the area.
STILL HAS BEEN A CASE
Missing "Celesta"
The most famous and mysterious case of the disappearance of the crew occurred with the brig "Maria Celesta". In December 1872, the sailors of the English ship Deia Grazia noticed a sailing ship moving in a strange way - only part of the sails was set on it. When the ships approached, it turned out that there was no one on the deck of the Celesta, and its steering wheel was not fixed. The first navigator and two sailors from the Dei Grazia landed on board. No traces of people were found. And in the logbook, the last entry was made on November 24 (the ship was found on December 2). Part of the Grace's crew was transferred to the Celesta, and the ship was delivered to British Gibraltar. There the ship was investigated by scientists and the most experienced detectives of Scotland Yard, but it was not possible to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of the crew.
BTW
Where did the legend come from
Ships abandoned by the crew are often called the Flying Dutchmen by sailors. According to one of the legends, the crew of the first "ghost ship" were sailors from a Dutch ship under the command of skipper Van Straaten.
According to legend, because of strong storms, the ship could not go around Cape Horn for a long time (according to another version - Cape of Good Hope). The crew mutinied, asking the skipper to turn back. But an angry Van Straaten in response began to blaspheme and declared that he would storm Cape Horn, even if he had to sail until the second coming. In response to such blasphemy, a terrible voice came from heaven: "So be it - swim!" To see such a ship is considered a great misfortune. The crews of all oncoming ships will face unthinkable disasters.
SADNESS CHRONICLE
People from ships continue to disappear into the 21st century. But whether all these cases are connected with the "voice of the sea" or meetings with the "Flying Dutchman" is not known for certain. Indeed, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, many pirates are now again bred. And illegal emigration can contribute to the list of mysterious incidents.
2003 An Indonesian schooner High Em 6 was found off the coast of Australia by a Coast Guard aircraft. The ship was in good condition, the holds were full of caught mackerel, but there was not a single crew member on board (he went to sea with 14 people on board).
2006 The Coast Guard off the coast of Sardinia spotted the abandoned two-masted sailing ship Bel Amica (Lovely Friend). The team, as usual, was not there. On board were food scraps, French maps and the flag of Luxembourg. The police suspected that the ship was being used by drug smugglers. But after examination by specially trained dogs, this version disappeared.
2006 The Yang Seng tanker was also found near Australia. Not a single person on board.
2007 An empty Kaz II 12-meter catamaran was found drifting northeast of Australia. When the rescuers landed on it, they found that the ship's engine was running, the laptop and GPS were on, and the table was set. All life-saving appliances remained on board. The sails are also raised, but badly damaged. Presumably, the crew consisted of three people.
2008 Japan's Maritime Safety Authority announced the discovery of a drifting pontoon (a cargo ship used for transshipment at roads and ports) in the Sea of Japan without a name, number or people on board.