The death ship..
The straits of Malacca near Sumatra have long borne witness to the passage of tradeships, Ivory, fabrics, perfumes
glassware and precious stones have passed through the straits Pacific waters, stowed in countless cargo holds,
eventually to settle in far flung places around the globe, over centuries, most of these merchantmen reached their
destinations safely, however, the quiet peace was broken one day in June 1947 when a forbidding SOS message drifted
across the airwaves; "All officers including the captain are dead lying in the chartroom and bridge" read the message,
"Possible whole crew dead" This was followed by some indecipherable Morse code chatter, probably more SOS signals,
and then one final grisly message..."I die" and the, silence.
The macabre distress call was picked up by numerous ships and Dutch and British listening posts who, though
triangulation, identified the vessel as the Dutch freighter SS Ourang Medan and located its approximate position
within the straits of Malacca.
Of the two American merchant ships that heard the Ourang Medan's grim message, the 6,507tn Silver Star was the
nearest and she raced to the aid of the stricken vessel.
Within a few hours, The Silver Star arrived upon a hushed sight, the calm sea gently lapped as the Ourang Medan's
stationary hull and the crew were nowhere to be seen above the decks.
The American ship hailed the Dutch vessel with whistles, calls and hand signals but there was no response, nothing in
board the strange craft moved.
A boarding party was quickly assembled and what they discovered was such an alarming sight that it has made the Ourang
Medan one of the strangest and disquieting nautical mysteries of all time, eclipsing even the Marie Celeste in macabre
Detail if not in infamy.
The SOS message proved correct, every member of the Ourang Medan's brew lay dead. The crew's corpses lay scattered
on the decks, the captain laid on the bridge, his officers in the wheelhouse, chartroom and wardroom al deceased.
More tha this their eyes were still open, faces upturned towards the pitiless sun, some with outstretched arms and
expressions of sheer terror upon their features.
As a May 1952 report of the Proccedings of the Merchant Marine Council put it "their frozen faces were upturned to the
sun, the mouths were gaping open and the eyes staring..." The Silver Star's boarding party noted that even the ship's
dog was dead, it's face locked in a tormented grimace that mirrored that of its master.
A trip to the communications room revealed the author of the SOS messages, also dead, his hand still on the Morse sending
key, eyes wide open and teeth bared. Strangely there was no sign of wounds or injuries in any of the bodies.
The decision was made to tow the mysterious ship back to port before they could get underway, smoke began emanating
below decks, probably oringinating in Number 4 hold, the boarding party hurriedly returned to The Silver Star and
barely had time to cut the tow lines before the SS Ourang Medan exploded with such force that she "lifted herself from
the water and swiftly sank"
have sought uncover the truth about the ship's puzzling fate..
As with many of these mysteries, it is unlikely that the truth will be uncovered.
Ourang Medan remains a dark tale on stormy nights.
SS Ourang Medan
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