Malaysia’s maritime authorities on Monday 29th May, 2023 said cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been found on the 2014 built Chinese dredger CHUAN HONG 68 detained at the weekend for anchoring in its territorial waters without permission.
The discovery came amid reports that scavengers have targeted two British World War Two wrecks off the coast of Malaysia – the HMS PRINCE OF WALES who was a King George V Class battleship and HMS REPULSE , a Renown Class Battlecruiser , which were sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1941, just three days after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Homeported at Fuzhou, China, the dredger was spotted by local fishermen in the vicinity of the shipwrecks in the previous month. Witnesses observed the vessel dredging the remains of the battleships and then unloading the salvage at a private jetty in Johor linked to a scrapyard capable of storing and melting metals.