Several days after the discovery of an antique-carrying ship off central Quang Ngai province’s Binh Chau commune, local divers are scrambling for their share of the precious cargo, while the local government, police and border guard forces struggle to keep the situation in check.

The ship, the location of which has not been officially confirmed, is the second antique ship to be discovered by local fishermen off Chau Thuan Bien Binh Son district.

Just like after the discovery of the first ship, local villagers and fishermen have rushed to the site to dive for antiques.

Some 4 km from the ship site, dozens of small boats are gathered. As the ancient ship is believed to be located only 20m from the shore at a depth of 2m, amateur divers don’t need to use scuba gear. All they need to do is jump into the ocean with a breathing hose to begin retrieving antiques. The area is thus bustling with diving activities and commotion.

According to Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy chair of Binh Chau Commune People’s Committee, the local government has advised locals against diving for antiques without a permit, and urged them to leave the site while asking Doan Anh Duong, a professional antique excavator, to take over the job.

However, Hung pointed out that since the ship is so close to the shore, it’s difficult to keep locals away from the site at night.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, head of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, protective measures which were used for a recently excavated 700-year-old antique ship, including the use of B40 nets and stones to barricade the site, will be used before draining water and dividing the site into squares to facilitate archaeological excavation.

Dr. Doan Ngoc Khoi, deputy head of the Quang Ngai Museum, affirmed that the antiques, which boast intricate patterns such as phoenix and windmills, date back from between the 14th century and the early 17th century. The items are believed to be enamel-coated porcelain and terracotta, which were produced by a firm in Guangdong, China.  

According to Khoi, several antique ships were wrecked off Binh Chau beacause the area was on the ancient silk road. Merchant ships would stop in the region to take on fresh water or seek shelter from storms before moving on. The ships could have burned naturally, or could have been set on fire by pirates.

A wrecked ancient ship carrying antiques which date back to the 13th century was discovered in the same area late last year. Its excavation, which yielded thousands of antique pieces, both intact and broken, was completed one month ago. Before the official excavation began, locals had also scrambled to the site to dive for antiques, and fights even broke out between them and with local law enforcers.