North Korean ghost ships explained

Every year, dozens of derelict boats from North Korea wash up on Japanese shores, some carrying the remains of their crew. These "ghost ships" are believed to result when North Korean fishermen are lost at sea and succumb to exposure or starvation. The fishermen often have to travel far out to sea to catch fish due to China's overfishing in North Korean waters.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Analysis

Fishing is a dangerous occupation worldwide; for example, the work-related fatality rate for Australian fisherman in one study was 143 per 100,000 man-years, which was 18 times the Australian national average work-related fatality rate.^[5] During the winter, North Korean fishing boats go out searching for king crab, squid and sandfish.^[6] Some of the boats appear to be either operated by soldiers or rented by the army to civilians.^[7] Fish is one of the main exports from North Korea to China.^[8] Wreckage from North Korean boats often washes ashore in northern Japan during winter due to seasonal winds.

Ships washing up without living crewmen typically are old, lack powerful modern engines, and have no GPS. A lack of food may play a role in crew death; with little food on board, exposure and starvation can become significant dangers. Sources in Wajima said the unclaimed bodies are cremated and their ashes stored in a Buddhist compound. The boats are dismantled, destroyed and incinerated.

Scholars such as John Nilsson-Wright of Chatham House find it unlikely that the boats resulted from attempts to defect; given that South Korea has closer cultural and linguistic ties, and is closer to North Korea by boat than Japan is, defection via Japan rather than South Korea by boat is uncommon. An analyst quoted by the South China Morning Post said it is unlikely vessels are being used to infiltrate North Korean agents into Japan, as it would be easier for them to use fake passports and put the agents aboard a flight or a ferry ship to Japan.^[9]

Fishing boats with living crew have also washed up on Japanese shores. In November 2017, eight North Korean men and a broken boat were found on Japan's northern coast; the men said they had washed ashore after their boat broke down.^[10] There are a few, rare, precedents for defectors ending up near Japan. In 1987, eleven defectors drifted from North Korea to west Japan. In 2006, four defectors floated to northern Japan.^[11] In September 2011, nine defectors accidentally made a five-day voyage to Japanese waters in a small boat while attempting to travel to South Korea.

Chinese illegal fishing explanation

Chinese commercial fishermen have engaged in large-scale squid fishing in North Korean waters in violation of U.N. sanctions which prohibit foreign fishing vessels from fishing in North Korean waters. The Chinese squid fishing fleet in North Korean waters has at times numbered up to 800 vessels and has caused a 70% decline in squid stock in those waters. According to Global Fisheries Watch “This is the largest known case of illegal fishing perpetrated by a single industrial fleet operating in another nation’s waters.”^[12] The decline in the squid stocks as a result of this illegal fishing is also believed to be a contributing factor to the increase in North Korean ghost ships. This is believed to have forced North Korean fishermen to venture further from shore and stay out longer, greatly increasing the risks of an already risky job.^[13] The so-called “dark fleet” of Chinese vessels has harvested half a billion dollars worth of squid in North Korean waters since 2017.^[14]

Statistics

• 2011 – First year for which official data is available from the Japanese Coast Guard; the counts from previous years may be similar, but no pre-2011 data is currently available. 57 boats reported in 2011; number of bodies is not disclosed. Because each piece of wreckage is counted as a separate incident, the number of boats may be overstated.^[15] Most are believed to be North Korean in origin, due to the typical lettering, the primitive nature of the boats, and occasionally other clues; however, it cannot be ruled out that some of the boats could be from South Korea or elsewhere.^[16]
• 2012 – 47 boats reported.^[16]
• 2013 – 80 boats reported.^[16]
• 2014 – 65 boats reported.^[16]
• 2015 – 34 boats reported for the year to date, as of November 27 2015. According to the NHK, the wrecks reported in October and November contain the remains of 25 bodies total.^[15] The coast guard stated that the bodies were badly decomposed; one boat contained six skulls, suggesting the boat had been adrift a long time.^[17]
• 2016 – Around 24 boats reported to reach the Japanese coast, according to Fox News.^[18] Sky News reported 66 or more boats, including boats found drifting off the coast.^{[19] [20]}
• 2017 – A record 104 boats with at least 31 bodies (and at least 42 survivors) were reported,^{[21] [22]} including a 22-foot wooden boat containing eight skeletonized bodies found in late November. Analysts quoted by Fox News attributed the increase in North Korean ghost ships to North Korean food shortages and to mounting sanctions against Kim Jong Un.^[18]
• 2018 – 89 boats with 12 bodies were reported for the year to date, as of 13 November 2018.^[23]
• 2019 – At least 156 boats were reported. In one case, seven bodies washed up on the island of Sado on December 28 2019.^[24]

North Korean ghost ships have also been reported in the Russian Far East.^[25]

See also

• Fishing industry in North Korea
• Fushin-sen
• Ghost ships
• Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

External links

• Twelve images of derelict North Korean shipwrecks in Russia (2018, www.vl.ru via RFE/RL)

Notes and References

1. Web site: White . Cliff . 22 Jul 2022 . Huge Chinese illegal fishing operation in North Korean waters uncovered . Seafood Source.
2. Web site: Garcia . Margaux . 12 Sep 2022 . Cracking Down on Illegal Chinese Fishing in North Korean Waters . Center for Strategic & International Studies.
3. Web site: Urbina . Ian . 20 Jul 2022 . The deadly secret of China's invisible armada . NBC News.
4. Web site: Daunton . Nichola . 4 Aug 2022 . Illegal fishing and physical violence: Life aboard China's 'devil vessels' revealed in new report . Euro News.
5. News: Korean Ghost Ships Wash Ashore in Japan. 24 November 2017. Snopes.com. 2 December 2015.
6. News: Paterson. Simeon. The 'North Korea ghost boats' washing up on Japan. 24 November 2017. BBC News. 4 December 2015.
7. News: Kaiman. Jonathan. North Korean ships with corpses on board have been washing ashore in Japan. 24 November 2017. Los Angeles Times. 10 April 2016.
8. News: Yamaguchi. Mari. Ghost boats washing up in Japan may be result of North Korean fishing drive for food, cash. 24 November 2017. The Japan Times Online. 2 December 2015. 5 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191105141415/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/02/national/corpse-carrying-ghost-boats-apparently-north-korea-reaching-sea-japan-coast/. dead.
9. News: Defecting or fishing? 11 wooden fishing boats from North Korea with 25 dead bodies found in Japanese waters . 24 November 2017 . South China Morning Post . en.
10. News: Yamaguchi. Mari. 8 thought to be North Korean fishermen wash ashore in Japan. https://web.archive.org/web/20171124114402/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/8-thought-to-be-north-korean-fishermen-wash-ashore-in-japan/2017/11/23/abd52f58-d0ba-11e7-a87b-47f14b73162a_story.html. dead. 24 November 2017. 24 November 2017. Washington Post. 23 November 2017.
11. News: Ogura . Junko . 29 November 2012 . Bodies found inside drifting boat near Japan . 24 November 2017 . CNN.
12. Web site: Urbina . Ian . The deadly secret of China's invisible armada . www.nbcnews.com . NBC News . 11 August 2020.
13. News: McCurry . Justin . North Korea's 'ghost ships' linked to illegal fishing by China fleet, study finds . . 22 July 2020 . 11 August 2020.
14. News: Hanich . Quentin . Seto . Katherine . Chinese fishing boats took half a billion dollars of illegal squid from North Korea. Scientists used satellites to catch them out . The Conversation . 11 August 2020.
15. News: N Korean 'ghost ships' wash up on Japanese shores. 24 November 2017. Financial Times. 4 December 2015.
16. News: 'Ghost ships' found in Japan: What we know. 24 November 2017. CNN. 12 December 2015.
17. News: Ghost ships with dead bodies found near Japan's shores. 24 November 2017. The Straits Times. 1 December 2015. en.
18. News: Lam . Katherine . More North Korean 'ghost ships' washing up on Japan's coast due to food shortage, sanctions, analysts say . 29 December 2019 . Fox News . 6 December 2017 . The discovery is just one of 28 boats that have reached the Japanese shoreline facing North Korea this year -- about four more compared to last year..
19. News: Hume . Tim . Why wooden boats crewed by skeletons keep beaching on Japanese shores . 9 June 2020 . Vice . 28 November 2017 . en.
20. News: 'Ghost ship' of decomposed bodies washed ashore in Sea of Japan . 9 June 2020 . Sky News . 28 November 2017 . en.
21. Web site: 'Ghost ship' washes up on Japan's coast with skeletal remains of suspected North Koreans. Katherine. Lam. Jan 17, 2018. Fox News. Dec 28, 2019.
22. Web site: North Korean 'ghost ship' arrivals in Japan hit record 99. Nikkei Asia. Dec 28, 2019.
23. News: Butler . Gavin . Mysterious Boats Full of Corpses Keep Washing Up in Japan . 9 June 2020 . Vice . 13 November 2018 . en.
24. News: Sado police find suspected North Korean boat with two heads, five bodies . 29 December 2019 . The Japan Times Online . 29 December 2019 . 30 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201030172330/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/29/national/remains-suspected-north-koreans-found-boat-sado-island/ . dead .
25. News: North Korean 'Ghost Ships' Deliver Grim Cargo To Russian Coast . 9 June 2020 . RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty . 2018 . en.