A message in a bottle discovered off the west coast of Eire has revived hopes for solutions concerning the destiny of a Taiwanese fishing crew that disappeared 4 years in the past.
Web sleuths have linked the be aware, a purported SOS message written in a mix of Chinese language, Indonesian and English, to the Yong Yu Sing No 18, a Taiwanese fishing vessel that was discovered adrift with its crew lacking in 2021.
Matthew Lengthy mentioned that he and a buddy had been strolling on a seashore on Inisheer, a small island situated about 8km (5 miles) off County Clare, final week once they got here throughout a wax-sealed bottle containing the handwritten be aware.
“We used Google Translate and the primary half of the message translated to an SOS message in Indonesian,” Lengthy instructed Al Jazeera.
Lengthy mentioned he handed the be aware over to the native police earlier than posting about his discovery on the social media web site Reddit, the place web sleuths shortly started working attempting to trace down its origin.
“We posted it in a couple of locations on-line, however once we posted it in r/beachcombing, it blew up and intelligent Redditors had been capable of hint it again to an actual lacking ship crew,” Lengthy mentioned.
In keeping with the Reddit posting, the textual content reads: “Please ship assist! We’re misplaced since 12/20. There are 3 of us right here. We don’t know the identify of this island. We’re injured. HELP. HELLO. SOS.”
The be aware ends with the Chinese language character for “Li” and the identify “Yong Yu Sing No 18.”
An Garda Síochána, the Irish police service, mentioned it doesn’t touch upon third-party content material on-line however confirmed it had acquired a “report of an merchandise discovered” on Inisheer final Saturday.
It declined to supply additional info.
The Yong Yu Sing No 18 was reported lacking on January 1, 2021, after its proprietor misplaced contact with the ship’s captain, a person surnamed Li, two days earlier, in accordance with Taiwan’s Central Information Company.
The fishing vessel was later discovered roughly 600km (373 miles) from Halfway Atoll, an unincorporated United States territory within the North Pacific Ocean, with its crew and lifeboat lacking.
The incident was later dominated an accident by Taiwanese prosecutors, however the destiny of Li and his 9 Indonesian crew members stays unknown to today.
The Taiwan Yilan District Prosecutors Workplace, which investigated the case in 2021, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Lengthy’s Reddit submit has acquired practically 10,000 upvotes, or “likes”, and 1,200 feedback from customers, a lot of them providing theories concerning the crew’s destiny and debating whether or not it’s extra possible that the be aware is real or a hoax.
In Taiwan, the be aware has been taken critically by advocates for the households of the lacking crew, together with the Su’Ao Fisherman’s Affiliation.
“This affiliation relays the hope that the federal government will confirm the scenario by way of acceptable channels, and if confirmed to be true, is keen for the federal government to cooperate with worldwide organisations to coordinate rescue efforts,” the affiliation mentioned in a press release to native media.
The Su’Ao Fisherman’s Affiliation didn’t instantly reply to Al Jazeera’s request for remark.
Web customers on Taiwan’s PTT message board have additionally debated the authenticity of the be aware.
Some have in contrast it with an incident in 1992 by which a container of 28,000 plastic geese and bathtub toys fell off a cargo ship throughout a storm.
Within the many years for the reason that incident, the geese have washed up world wide, together with as distant as Scotland.
Lengthy mentioned he’s unsure about whether or not the be aware is real, however believes it’s doable.
“I don’t know concerning the be aware’s authenticity or if it was actually despatched by the crew of that ship,” he mentioned.
“I used to be very sceptical at first and believed it to be a hoax once I first opened and skim the message, however since then, it’s beginning to look extra believable to me.”