SS Ourang Medan: The shocking clues that the ship left behind

“All officers including captain are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.” This message was followed by indecipherable Morse code then one final grisly message… “I die!”

These chilling words were heard in a distress call picked up by numerous ships near Indonesia, from the Dutch freighter SS Ourang Medan in February, 1948.

They arrived

SS Ourang Medan: The shocking clues that the ship left behind 1
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When the first rescue vessel arrived on the scene a few hours later, they tried to hail the Ourang Medan but there was no response. A boarding party was sent to the ship and what they found was a frightening sight that has made the Ourang Medan one of the strangest and scariest ghost ship stories of all time.

They witnessed

They saw, all the crew and officers of the Ourang Medan were dead, their eyes were wide open, faces looking towards the sun, arms outstretched and a bizarre impression of terror on their faces. Even the ship’s dog was dead, found snarling at some unseen enemy.

An abrupt explosion

When nearing the bodies in the boiler room, the rescue crew felt a chill, though the temperature was above 40℃. They decided to tow the ship back to port, but before they could get underway, smoke began rolling up from the hull. The rescue crew left the ship as soon as possible and barely had time to cut the tow lines before the Ourang Medan exploded and sank.

The mysterious clues that SS Ourang Medan left behind

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  • A significant count of reports came from the sailors, sailing through the trade route of the Malaca that while their ships were moving along the shores of Malaysia and Sumatra, they picked a series of strange SOS signals, coming from some invisible ship.
  • There has been several instances, wherein sailors witnessed the mystical appearance and disappearance of the cursed ship.
  • Sailors who approached to extend support to the ill-omened ship, discovered that the deck was stuffed with frozen Corpses of humans and dog.
  • The corpses, seen to lie on the deck were observed to hold their arms to some unknown assailants.
  • Their faces seemed like they encountered some kinds of terrific events while dying.
  • The dead body of the communication officer of SS Ourang Medan was observed to be sitting intact on his Duty chair, with no signs of life in his body.
  • There has been clear evidences that the crew members of this ship have to face extreme sufferings, though the exact cause of suffering was never determined.
  • It is a mystery as how the entire team of crew and captain could die at a go without leaving any signs of foul pay or sabotage in the ship.
  • The observers never found any damages to the ship that might be the reason for the sudden deaths of the crew.
  • The only ship that tried to tow this ill-omened ship to the dock, the moment they attached the tow line to the ship, found mysterious smoke coming out of that ship. This is a mystery as there were no signs of the slightest damage to the ship or any serious malfunctioning of its components.
  • The rescue party went in shock as they witnessed SS Ourang Medan exploded with a terrible sound, the moment they removed the tow line from the ship. Such a horrible scene they never forgot.
  • A few of the rescue team members claimed to hear some mysterious whispers in the ship. They could never determined the source.
  • As described by one of the members of the rescue group, he heard a dreadful inhuman laughter from the deck.
  • Some even witnessed the sudden appearance and disappearance of strange lights, while they were inside the Ourang Medan.
  • It is a big mystery as how the corpses, exposed to the sun can stay frozen. The atmospheric temperature was above 40℃.
  • The biggest mystery is about the very existence of this ship in reality. No records have been found till date that can prove the mystery ship SS Ourang Medan existed ever.
  • There is a controversy about the origin of the ship. Some claims it had its origin in Sumatra, while others refers to its Dutch origin.
  • As on date, no one has been able to determine as what exactly happened to this ship that resulted in such large-scale deaths.
  • Some of the observers asserted, there are possibilities that the 4th Hold of the ship was carrying illegal and lethal substances.
  • Some experts have even hinted upon the possibilities that the deaths of its crew and the demise of Ourang Medan was due to the influence of some biological weapons that were extremely lethal.

Final words

To this day, the exact fate of the SS Ourang Medan and her crew remains an unsolved mystery. So, what’s your opinion? Did the mystery ship SS Ourang Medan really ever exist? If yes, then what happened to this ship? Was it really a confidential vessel carrying illegal or lethal substances and weapons? What is the secret behind the SS Ourang Medan??