Awash in Mystery

In the midst of the Indian Ocean, sometime in early winter of 1993, as the sun's rays bounced off of the waves, something mysterious happened aboard the 127 food trawler, long line fishing boat, the Sea Rose. The boat was first spotted by the crew of a twin-engine Bombardier de Havilland Coastwatch surveillance plane. She was far from the Marshall Islands, where passing ships had reported spotting her, and now she was near the Rowley Shoals, some 150 miles off the coast of Australia. A photo was taken by the custom agents showing the deck of the Sea Rose to be devoid of human activity and the agents did not see anyone aboard the boat. This was not a cause of suspicion because it was a foreign ship inside the Australian fishing zone, which extends 200 miles out to seal. Often times foreign fishing crews will stow their gear and go below while in Australian waters. But the customs agents radioed a report to authorities in Canberra, the capital, describing the drifting ship. The Australian Navy responded and came upon the Sea Rose. She was drifting in Australian waters with no crew or evidence of what could have happened. They hailed her and when they received no response, the boarded her. The main fuel tank was dry, but the auxiliary tanks were full and not switched on. There was evidence of storm damage but not enough to cause any danger of sinking. The engines were operative and on full throttle, the valuable navigation instrumentations an high-frequency radio was all intact. Crew members’ clothing and documents were neatly stowed where they should be and provisions were still in good supply. The refrigerated hold was empty of fish, but there was evidence that a large quantity of bonito tuna had been stored there recently. The personal gear of Captain Kent Allison, and of his wife, Teddi Allison, was still on board along with their documents. Was it piracy? Were they boarded under some ruse? But there was little evidence of foul play. A small spatter of blood was found next to a damaged life line, but not enough to indicate a mutiny. Maybe an accident? Did they all abandon ship? The life raft was missing, if there even was a life raft in the first place. The dinghy storage rack was empty. Every theory is quickly dashed on the shoals of contradicting facts. The vessel was taken in tow t the nearest Australian port, which was Willie Creek, and was stored with a collection of other derelict vessels, a place that also housed derelict men. Most had found their way there for a variety of reasons, and many for something done illegally in Australian waters. There the Sea Rose sat for the next several months with no further explanation. Willie Creek is nothing more than a ramshackle collection of structures at the end of a red dirt road that runs through a wilderness of acacia trees and shrubs, and populated by gray kangaroos and dingoes. A good place to get lost. Robert Craig, who lives there in a collection of structures, had towed her in and intended to apply for salvage rights or profit in some less than legal way. The insurer of the boat may make him an offer. But he must wait for the proper authorization before he can do anything legally about the ship that was “AWASH IN MYSTERY”. And this may take longer than he’d like to wait. He would act now.