SHIP TRACKED: The AIS map supplied by ship spotter Ian Noormets clearly shows the Maersk Dryden loitering south of Montague Island.
HARD TO MISS: The 294-metre Maersk Dryden as pictured on the vesseltracker.com website.
SHIP spotter and ex-member of the Narooma Marine Rescue unit Ian Noormets has potentially solved the case of the mystery ship spotted south of Montague Island on the weekend.
“An inspection of my AIS data log reveals that a ship named Maersk Dryden MMS 636091083 was in the area all day Saturday,” Mr Noormets said.
“One possible reason was that it may have been ahead of schedule and as most ports are like an airport the vessel had a time that it could berth and not any earlier.”
Mr Noormets supplied the Narooma News with the data log for Saturday, July 7 that shows the 294-metre container ship loitering in the area.
There are a number of resources on the internet that ship spotters can use to track vessels.
The mystery ship came to light when at least three Tilba locals noticed a large cargo ship apparently not moving all day on the horizon south of Narooma and Montague Island on Saturday morning, where it remained all day.
Resident Harry Bate said the locals were mystified as to why the ship would have stopped in the area for such a long period.
The ship was estimated at being about 30km out to sea south of Narooma and one of the locals did spot the ship's lights on Saturday night.
The Narooma News contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) on Monday speaking to the Rescue Coordination Centre.
The records were checked and while there was a Liberian-registered container ship in the vicinity on Saturday but there were no reports of any distress or anything else out of the ordinary.
Do you have an opinion or view on this article, want to get it off your chest? Then scroll down and make a comment, it’s easy and we will post it as is within reason and decency and you don’t even need to use your real name! Ps: it might take a while for us to get to it and approve it, but rest assured your comments are valued and they will go up asap!