The Myanmar 'water Brothers' Salvaging Shipwrecks On The Tide

Yangon, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Apr, 2024) Diving into the darkness of the Yangon River, Than Nyunt starts another murky sortie in his months-long mission to salvage a sunken ship using the power of the moon.

His target is a 53-metre (174-foot) long cargo vessel resting on the silty riverbed in Myanmar's commercial hub, whose steel carcass will fetch a tidy sum as scrap -- if he can get it to shore.

A hose running from his mask up to an oxygen pump on the boat is his lifeline and only means of communication -- one tug on it from a colleague means "come up quickly".

He stays in the dark depths for up to three hours at a time, attaching cables to the wreck.

The cables run up to the team's boat on the surface, and then to shore. When it rises on the next tide, it will drag the shipwreck a few metres along the bed.

The work is slow and dangerous but addictive, said Than Nyunt, 58.

He says he has salvaged around 40 ships, from cargo boats to passenger ferries, since he started diving over four decades ago.

"After I excavate one ship I always want to do it again and again," he told AFP from the river, wearing a Manchester United jersey and a pair of gardening gloves.

"Besides making money, I want to know the condition of the wreck... I also talk with ship owners about the ship's history, and we both are delighted when we can salvage them."

The team's current shipwreck -- the Mya Nadi (Emerald River) -- is an old friend for Than Nyunt.

He salvaged the vessel in 1981 for its owner, who fitted it with a new engine and set it back to work.

Around eight years ago it sank again.