Mysterious GPS signals reveal GHOST SHIPS sailing in wide circles off the coast of San Francisco, despite tracking data saying they should actually be thousands of miles away
Bjorn Bergman, who works for SkyTruth and Global Fishing Watch, observed strange GPS signals showing ships off the coast of San Francisco traveling in circular patterns, despite other data saying the ships were actually located halfway around the world
- A watchdog group noticed some strange GPS signals near San Francisco
- Nine ships appeared to be traveling in circular patterns off the coastline
- The ships weren't actually in the water and other data showed them having recently been thousands of miles away, in Nigeria, the Suez Canal, or Norway
- Some experts say GPS spoofing devices are used to mask their real location
Ghost ships appear to be sailing in large circles off the coast of San Francisco, giving off GPS signals without the boats actually being anywhere near the area.
The
mysterious phenomenon was first noticed by Bjorn Bergman, who works for
the environmental watchdog groups SkyTruth and Global Fishing Watch,
which track the movements of commercial ships across the world's oceans.
Bergman
identified signals from nine ships, all of which seemed to be moving in
circular tracks in the waters off Point Reyes, just north of San
Francisco--and some tracks even showed the ships crossing onto dry land.
Strangely, none of the ships emitting signals from the area were
anywhere close to the California coastline, according to other recent
data on their journeys.
According to a report in Newsweek,
the signals came from ships that had recently been tracked in Norway,
Malaysia, Nigeria, the Sea of Azov (between Russia and Ukraine), and the
Suez Canal.
Almost all ships are legally required to
use an automatic identification systems (AIS) to track their location to
help avoid collisions with other ships and ensure international laws
are observed.
According to Bergman,
there are a number of possible explanations, but no clear answer as to
what's causing the strange phenomenon.
Bergman suggested it could be related to a US Coast Guard site on Point Reyes, tha that been operational until 2015.
'One
thing that could be plausible is that it's acting as a zero location
because of the importance of this spot in developing maritime navigation
systems,' Bergman told Newsweek.
'So if [a ship's] reception is blocked for whatever reason they're appearing there.'
Experts still debate the cause of the strange circular patterns. The
University of Texas at Austin's Todd Humphreys says it's likely the
signals were a result of GPS spoofing devices used specifically to mask
the real location of the vessels.
Other
data about the ships sending out the GPS signals showed there was no way
for any of them to have been near San Francisco, with some having been
in Nigeria, Malaysia, the Suez Cana, and Norway
A
likelier explanation, according to Todd Humphreys, an associate
professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the
University of Texas at Austin, is that the ships are using GPS spoofing
devices to trick the AIS system and mask their real location.
Humphreys
told Newsweek, that the circular patterns are similar to those produced
by 'off-the-shelf spoofing devices' that are commonly used to trick GPS
systems.
'We know it's GPS spoofing because we also see it in the data from exercise apps,' Humphreys told Newsweek.
'Usually
the false location is near the true one, but in other cases it's half a
world away, like Point Reyes for a ship off the coast of Africa.'
Newsweek