1 of 2 | Malaysian authorities found suspected metals and armaments plundered from British naval vessels sunk in World War II when they boarded a Chinese dredger Sunday that had anchored in Malaysian water without permission. Photo courtesy Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency/Facebook
May 30 (UPI) -- A Chinese vessel suspected of plundering World War II wrecks in the South China Sea, including two British warships torpedoed by Japanese aircraft in 1941, has been seized by Malaysian authorities.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said officers stopped the ship for anchoring illegally on Sunday 20 miles off the east coast of the southern Johor state and found metal and artillery shells believed to be from WWII.
The vessel is being linked to a scrapyard raid where investigators found artifacts, metals and 46 unexploded 135mm and 40mm artillery shells believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales, which was sunk by Japanese aircraft in December 1941 just three days after Pearl Harbor.
Scrap from wartime wrecks sells for very large sums because it is low-radiation "background" steel -- a pre-Nuclear-age pure metal that produces no ionizing radiation -- which is highly sought after for use in medical and scientific equipment.
The vessel's captain has been taken into custody but authorities were continuing to search international waters for a parent vessel to which the dredger may have transhipped looted items, according to Johor MMEA director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria.
"We are studying the possibility that the vessel may have gone back and forth to a mothership to offload the stolen items. This is a distinct possibility."
The vessel had applied for a permit to salvage a Chinese vessel further to the north but authorities became suspicious after a video circulated online of artifacts believed to be from sunken ships being unloaded just over the border from Singapore.
Britain, which like many countries designates its sunken military ships as war graves, condemned the looting.
"We strongly condemn any desecration of any maritime military grave," a Ministry of Defense spokesman said.
"Where we have evidence of desecration of the wrecks of Royal Navy vessels, we will take appropriate action, including working with regional governments and partners to prevent inappropriate activity at such sites."