Clip of Indonesian ship sunk in 2015 mispresented as new 'accident in Bangladesh'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 31, 2022 at 07:54
Updated on August 31, 2022 at 10:41
3 min read
By Qadaruddin SHISHIR, AFP Bangladesh

A video of a ship capsizing before sinking has been viewed tens of thousands of times on social media alongside a claim that it showed an accident in Bangladesh in August 2022. But it actually shows an Indonesian passenger ship accident in 2015. As of August 31, 2022, AFP has found no official reports of ships sinking in Bangladesh during the month.

The footage was shared here on Facebook on August 19, 2022, where it has garnered more than 18,000 views.

The clip, which is more than 11 minutes long, shows a ship slowly tilting before sinking. Several tugboats and other vessels can also be seen in the video.

"A Bangladeshi ship carrying fuel worth six billion taka [$63 million] has sunk," reads the Bengali-language caption. "The hull cracked after it was loaded."

Screenshot of the false post as of August 30, 2022

Facebook users' comments on the post suggested many believed the accident happened. "They should have checked the ship before loading," one commented.

"It was a curse on Bangladesh," another said.

Below are screenshots of comments from Facebook users

Screenshots of comments from Facebook users

The footage has been viewed more than 10,000 times after appearing alongside similar claims on Facebook here and here.

However, the claim is false.

Indonesian ship accident

A combination of keyword and reverse image search on Google found the footage was published here on November 17, 2015 on a YouTube channel by Arkananta Indonesia, an Indonesian marine construction company.

The Indonesian title and caption of the video identify the vessel as the Wihan Sejahtera. It also says the vessel sunk in waters off the Lamong Bay port terminal, in East Java province.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading Facebook post (left) and the genuine footage from 2015 (right):

Screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading Facebook post (left) and the genuine footage from 2015 (right)

People speaking Indonesian language can be heard off-camera in the video, talking about the vessel.

"Look at that, many passengers are jumping off the ship," one man says at the start of the clip. At the one-minute, 30-second mark, another says: "Don't worry, the ship won't sink. It would be tilting just like that."

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee released an investigative report on the sinking in 2016, saying 212 people were rescued from the passenger ship following the accident.

"There were no casualties from this accident," the report said.

It included a picture of the Wihan Sejahtera, which has the same livery as the ship seen in the misleading video.

Screenshot of the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee report, which shows an image of the Wihan Sejahtera

International media reported about the accident here and here, saying the vessel was carrying more than 100 people when it sank on November 16, 2015.

Indonesian media outlets RCTI and Berita Satu broadcast similar footage in 2015 about the accident.

As of August 31, 2022, AFP has found no official reports of ships sinking in Bangladesh during the month.

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