This incident dates back to February 1948, and the location was almost the same where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was last seen on radar in 2014—the Strait of Malacca.
.webp "SS Ourang Medan Mystery")
This area is a narrow stretch of sea between Malaysia and Indonesia, through which thousands of commercial ships pass every day.
That day, the weather was perfectly clear. The sea was calm, and the wind was peaceful, just like any normal day. Several American and British naval vessels were traveling along this route. Everything was proceeding normally—until suddenly, the radios on multiple ships picked up a strange signal.
Viewers, the strange signal being received was in Morse code. Morse code may be an old-school communication method, but it was far more reliable than voice messages. Normally, when audio is transmitted over radio, it depends heavily on distance and atmospheric obstacles such as fog, dust, humidity, and line of sight. When such obstructions exist, voice messages often fail to reach the receiver clearly—either fading away or arriving heavily distorted.
In contrast, Morse code is a combination of dots and dashes, which can be decoded at the receiving end into complete English sentences. Its biggest advantage is that it can be transmitted across thousands of kilometers despite atmospheric interference.
The Morse code received that day in the Strait of Malacca began like this:
Three dots, three dashes, and again three dots.
This pattern was repeated twice, followed by a long sequence of dots and dashes.
When decoded, the opening message translated to:
“SOS SOS.”
The full message read:
“SOS SOS. Request from the steamship SS Ourang Medan. Shortwave wireless ships, please contact the doctor immediately.”
This was the first message received.
Without any delay, a second message followed. Its translation was:
“It is believed the Second Officer is dead. Other crew members are also dead. Do not give medical advice. SOS. Requesting urgent help from a warship.”
After this second message, the Ourang Medan transmitted its position. Then came the final message—possibly incomplete. It contained only two words:
“I die.”
And then, silence.
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| Photo Wikimedia Commons - In the late 1940s, the Dutch shipping vessel Ourang Medan (similar to the ships pictured here) was found adrift with all hands dead, faces frozen in fear. |
After this last message, a long and unsettling quiet spread across the airwaves. Radio operators on other ships immediately tried to respond, but there was no reply. Minutes passed, and the silence continued. Every ship that had received the transmission understood one thing clearly—something horrifying had happened to the ship named SS Ourang Medan.
Following these terrifying messages, the nearest vessel was an American merchant ship called Silver Star. The captain of the Silver Star decided to head toward the source of the signal. He altered the ship’s course and moved rapidly toward the Ourang Medan.
At first, they assumed the ship might be sinking or had been attacked. After several hours of travel, when the Silver Star approached the coordinates, they spotted a ship floating in the distance through binoculars.
As they came closer, the Silver Star’s crew was shocked. SS Ourang Medan appeared to be in perfect condition. There was no visible damage, no signs of flooding. It was simply floating silently on the water.
What was strange was that despite being a steam-powered ship, no smoke was coming from its chimney. Even more disturbing—there was no movement on deck. A massive ship, completely silent.
Confused, the captain of the Silver Star made multiple loudspeaker announcements and sounded the horn repeatedly. But there was no response—only the sound of ocean waves.
Finally, the captain decided to send a team aboard the Ourang Medan to uncover the truth.
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| Photo Credit - Internet : Photo of a sailor alleged to have been aboard the Ourang Medan, although its authenticity is questionable |
When the rescue team boarded the ship, they felt an unnatural coldness inside, and an eerie silence surrounded them. Soon, they came across the first dead body. This was no ordinary corpse—the man’s face was twisted in sheer terror. His eyes and mouth were wide open, as if he had witnessed something unspeakably horrifying at the moment of death. His body was stiff, arms stretched forward, as if trying to push something away.
As the team moved further, they discovered more bodies scattered across the deck. The captain was dead at his post. The officers were dead on the bridge. Even the ship’s dog was found dead.
The dog’s death was just as unnatural—its body was stiff, mouth open in a frozen snarl. The most shocking detail was that none of the bodies showed any signs of injury. There were no wounds, no blood, no marks of struggle. Yet every face carried the same expression of absolute terror.
When the rescue team entered the radio room, they found the body of the radio operator—the same man who had sent the distress messages. His fingers were still positioned on the Morse key, frozen exactly as they must have been when he sent the final words: “I die.”
By this point, the rescue team was certain that something extremely abnormal had occurred. There were no visible injuries, yet every death seemed to be caused by intense fear.
They decided to tie the ship with ropes and tow it to the nearest port for further investigation.
But just as they began securing the ropes, smoke started rising from Cargo Hold Number Four. At first it was faint, but within moments, a fire erupted violently. The flames spread so rapidly that the rescue team had no option but to flee.
They jumped back into their small boats and rushed toward the Silver Star to save their lives.
As soon as they reached safety, SS Ourang Medan exploded violently, scattering debris across the sea. Within moments, the mysterious ship sank into the depths of the ocean—taking all its secrets and the horrifying bodies with it.
No physical evidence remained.
Only the testimony of the Silver Star’s crew survived—those who had witnessed the entire event.
Because there was no solid evidence, many people dismissed the incident as a fabricated story, while others began developing conspiracy theories. Some researchers claimed that a ship named SS Ourang Medan was never officially registered. Even Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, which maintains records of ships worldwide, contained no entry for it.
However, researchers who believe the incident argue that this occurred just after World War II, a time when many ships sailed under fake names or were not registered at all. It is possible the Ourang Medan was one such vessel, or that it was involved in illegal activities and therefore never registered.
.webp "A news report detailing the Ourang Medan vessel incident published in Dutch newspaper De Locomotief on Feb 28, 1948.") |
| Photo Credit - The Strait Times : A news report detailing the Ourang Medan vessel incident published in Dutch newspaper De Locomotief on Feb 28, 1948. |
Years later, in 1954, Dutch newspapers published an article detailing the entire Ourang Medan incident.
It included interviews with individuals who had previously worked on the ship. Some former crew members claimed the ship was used for smuggling illegal goods, which could explain why it was never officially registered. Attempts to trace the ship’s owner failed due to a lack of evidence.
Decades later, in May 2003, the CIA declassified several secret files, including one related to the mysterious SS Ourang Medan. It contained a letter dated May 29, 1958, addressed to the CIA. The author wrote that if the Ourang Medan tragedy were ever solved, it could explain the disappearance of many aircraft and ships.
Whether the CIA investigated further or not remains unknown. The letter stayed classified for 45 years before being released in 2003 and is still available on the CIA’s website today.
The most widely accepted and logical theory is that the ship was carrying dangerous chemicals. World War II had just ended, and both Japan and Germany possessed deadly chemical weapons. It is believed the ship was smuggling substances such as potassium cyanide or nitroglycerin.
Experts say that if seawater mixes with potassium cyanide, it can release an extremely toxic gas. When inhaled, it reacts inside the lungs and can cause immediate death by suffocation—explaining why the bodies had no external injuries.
Nitroglycerin, on the other hand, is a highly explosive chemical. If not stored properly, it can detonate on its own. The fire witnessed by the rescue team may have been caused by this chemical.
Another theory suggests the ship was transporting materials from Unit 731, a notorious Japanese military unit that conducted biological experiments on humans. After Japan’s defeat, the U.S. reportedly attempted to relocate Japanese scientists. The ship may have been carrying secret biological weapons or chemicals, and a leak could have wiped out the entire crew. Because it was a secret mission, the ship may never have been registered.
When the CIA letter was declassified decades later, belief in this theory grew stronger.
An additional eerie detail is the Silver Star crew’s claim that the atmosphere felt extremely heavy. The dog’s death—frozen in an aggressive posture—suggests it may have seen something terrifying. This detail pushes the incident toward a supernatural mystery.
The truth of SS Ourang Medan remains buried somewhere in the depths of the ocean. Logically speaking, the chemical leak theory appears the strongest—smuggled war chemicals and poor safety measures costing innocent sailors their lives.
This incident remains one of the few that remind us how many secrets the sea still hides.
Even today, when ships pass through the Strait of Malacca, old sailors recall the story of SS Ourang Medan—a tale that proves no matter how advanced humanity becomes, it is still helpless before nature and fate.
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