# Ghost ship full of cannibal rats about to crash into coast **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554 "2014-01-23T20:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/41 "2014-01-24T13:09:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 😕😕 Isn’t Discovery Magazine a legit source? No one has said or implied otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/42 "2014-01-24T16:10:43Z")
**aceplace57,** I wasn’t knocking your linked source. I repeated it in my post as it appears in yours. I was laughing at the story and how it was treated in the OP link and thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/43 "2014-01-24T18:43:38Z")
Willard joins the Navy! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/44 "2014-01-24T18:56:26Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > Willard joins the Navy! Willard joins McHale’s Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/45 "2014-01-24T19:02:10Z")
I’ve seen this story a couple places, and some of the posts in the comment sections are sadly hilarious. Some people seem to think there’s a new, scary breed of super Cannibal Rat on this ship, not simply rats that are eating dead (or not) rats. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/46 "2014-01-24T19:14:16Z")
When I first saw this thread title I didn’t click on it. I thought it was a plot for a movie. Then I saw it on a news source. Its for real! Someone got a helicopter? Lets get some videos of this. But, I am sure they won’t do justice to what I have imagined it to be. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/47 "2014-01-24T19:32:20Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Man, that’s an headline that oversells itself. They couldn’t even manage one of those pictures of what a diseased cannibal rat “might” look like? [Here.](http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/10/31/pb121030_custom-984f3877c7303ef431d81a6a25547c95f0553976-s6-c30.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/48 "2014-01-24T19:40:03Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > When I first saw this thread title I didn’t click on it. I thought it was a plot for a movie. Then I saw it on a news source. Its for real! > Someone got a helicopter? Lets get some videos of this. But, I am sure they won’t do justice to what I have imagined it to be. You overestimate the reality of the situation. As far as I have seen, no one has actually found the ship, let alone determined the dining habits of any rats that might still be aboard. It was lost off the Dominican Republic–across the Atlantic Ocean from the locations mentioned in the article–and has not been seen since last April. It has probably sunk, and if it has managed to stay afloat, it’s just an empty derelict ship; as **Princhester** said, there wouldn’t have been anything on board to sustain a substantial rat population. The author of the article appears to have latched onto a random missing ship to fulfill a frustrated anachronistic urge to write for the pulps. None of which has stopped me from contemplating possible verses for a “(Rat) King of the Cannibal Islands”/“Swing a Cat” mashup, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/49 "2014-01-24T19:49:18Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Ireland might import snakes to get rid of the rats. Okay, that’s starting to sound like “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”. My husband, Andy L, says, “I’ve had it up to here with those @#% rats on my @#% ship!” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/50 "2014-01-24T19:57:22Z")
NBC Nightly News bought into the whole hyped story last night. However, video of the story is surprisingly missing from their web archive of last night’s broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/51 "2014-01-24T20:10:51Z")
ok. I appreciate the clarification. 🙂 The story has been over hyped. > [@Kenm](#): > > **aceplace57,** I wasn’t knocking your linked source. I repeated it in my post as it appears in yours. I was laughing at the story and how it was treated in the OP link and thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/52 "2014-01-24T20:14:57Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > My husband, Andy L, says, “I’ve had it up to here with those @#% rats on my @#% ship!” That was absolutely my first thought when I heard about that ship. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/53 "2014-01-24T21:59:40Z")
From what I gather, the part about the ship being set adrift is fact, and the part about the ship full of cannibal rats comes from an old crusty seafaring salvage hunter talking about what he expects to find. They never exaggerate. 🙂 Are rats always, automatically on large ships these days? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/54 "2014-01-25T01:26:40Z")
Cannibal rats of unusual size? I don’t think they really exist. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/55 "2014-01-25T01:35:18Z")
> [@wile e](#): > > cannibal rats of unusual size? I don’t think they really exist. whack! ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/56 "2014-01-25T03:19:35Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > You overestimate the reality of the situation. > > As far as I have seen, no one has actually found the ship, let alone determined the dining habits of any rats that might still be aboard. It was lost off the Dominican Republic–across the Atlantic Ocean from the locations mentioned in the article–and has not been seen since last April. It has probably sunk, and if it has managed to stay afloat, it’s just an empty derelict ship; as **Princhester** said, there wouldn’t have been anything on board to sustain a substantial rat population. The author of the article appears to have latched onto a random missing ship to fulfill a frustrated anachronistic urge to write for the pulps. > > None of which has stopped me from contemplating possible verses for a “(Rat) King of the Cannibal Islands”/“Swing a Cat” mashup, of course. 😃 Thanks **Balance** , I think. You really popped my balloon. I was imagining these huge rats with gnarling canine teeth and nothing could stop them. Oh well, back to the regularly scheduled programing. But it could make a good movie, no? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/57 "2014-01-26T18:34:25Z")
> **[No, an Abandoned Ship Full of Diseased Rats Is Not Floating Towards Britain](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-abandoned-ship-full-diseased-rats-not-floating-towards-britain-180949477/)** > > If you believe the headlines, a ghost ship full of cannibal rats is heading for England. Don't believe the headlines Spoilsports 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/58 "2014-01-26T23:05:23Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-abandoned-ship-full-diseased-rats-not-floating-towards-britain-180949477/](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-abandoned-ship-full-diseased-rats-not-floating-towards-britain-180949477/) > > Spoilsports 😉 From the above link: > [@](#): > > If you believe [the headlines](http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/23/lyubov-orlova-position-hungry-rat-ship-heading-to-britain-4274017/), it’s full of cannibal rats, and it’s heading for England. Neither of those things are true. Because by this time, those that have survived through the eating of the others’ brains have exponentially increased their intelligence and are now fishing, have outwitted all the puny hewmen searching for the ship and are contentedly sipping brandy as the ship’s chess finals begin. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/59 "2014-03-11T21:15:14Z")
OK, so has anyone heard anything about this recently. Have the radioactive cannibal zombie rats made landfall? Or has the ship sunk? The latest I can find is [an article](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/26/officials-believe-rat-infested-ghost-ship-has-sunk/) from late January, which is inconclusive. I guess this type of thing catches the world’s attention for a few days and just vanishes. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554/60 "2014-03-11T21:18:35Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I guess this type of thing catches the world’s attention for a few days and just vanishes. Until someone is eaten by a radioactive, cannibal rat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-about-to-crash-into-coast/679554.md?page=4)