Iranian fishermen have gathered in the hundreds around the sunken freighter GFS Pride in the Persian Gulf to fish for valuable cargo, after its 2500+ containers were lost on 14th October.
The fishermen also went out in small fishing boats and salvaging boats following the incident to look for salvageable objects like the iPhones, French perfumes and other consumer goods in the wreckage.
Videos published out of the vicinity of the area depicted boats drifting around sections of shipping containers being seized out of the water by men. In another clip, a small boat seemed to work hard to towing what looked like an entire shipping container.
In one video, a man said that they were collecting and that they were going to the Strait of Hormuz. “Because we heard a perfume car sank we’re going to collect iPhones and perfume.”
The cause of the sinking is still unclear. The GFS Pride, which was en route under the flag of Singapore, stated that a fire had broken out in the vessel leading to its sinking. The crew of 21 was picked up without loss of life.
But the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy told a different story. The ship had passed through an unlicensed and hazardous shipping lane before hitting a sea mine that caused the fire, it said.
The vessel has sunk, leaving behind a lot of cargo that could be recovered by fishermen; perhaps it had materialized or is opening up from among the underwater containers.
The incident is also cautioning people of the dangers of close approaches to a shipwreck. Several problems can create a potential danger to small boats and individuals trying to salvage the wreck, including the fact that the debris is only partially submerged.
The crew was not hurt, but details of the cause of the sinking and the losses of cargo are still unanswered questions in the case.