Warship Wreck and UXOs Uncovered by Sand Dredging in Kampong Cham (UPDATED)

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Cambodia News, Kampong Cham Province: A wreck of a warship along with three types of unexploded ordnance was found in the Mekong River Located in Veal village, Meanchey commune, Srey Santhor district, Kampong Cham province. It is suspected to be a remnant of the civil war.
After receiving the report from the local authority on the morning of August 12, 2020, Mr. Un Chanda, Governor of Kampong Cham, accompanied by the provincial officials and other relevant officials, inspected the location of the wreckage of the submerged ship in order to have the police seal off the area until all the ammunition is safely removed.
The provincial governor called on local people not to go fishing in the restricted area until it is cleared by professionals and declared safe again.


Recently, Sophearoth Development Enterprise has been pumping sand in the area and reported that they had found 3 types of bullets in the sand: AK57 bullets, 60mm bullets, and an 80 mm bullet. The CMAC officers and a team of divers went for an inspection dive at the pumping site where they found a sunken warship and the UXOs.

[SternAAlbifrons]

to set the scene..
04/06/74 A CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT CONVOY UNDER ATTACK ON THE MEKONG RIVER

This is obviously coming upstream into Phnom Penh, not up in K. Cham.
I wonder how much of the river war went on up north. ??

[Woody]

I would be more interested in UFO's

[John Bingham]

I wonder how much of the river war went on up north. ??

The north east provinces of Stung Treng, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri and Kratie were lost very early in the war in March - August 1970. Most of FANK's efforts afterwards were to keep NR 6 and 7 open to Siem Reap, Kampong thom and Kampong Cham. Kampong Cham city was attacked in 1970 time too but wasn't a major focus t the enemy till August1973. There was fierce fighting with paratroops sent in by FANK to recapture the city. The airfield was compromised so naval task forces were sent. The city was recaptured by September. More here, the part on KC is around page 122:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/ ... -the-final

[CEOCambodiaNews]

January 6, 2021
Ministry wants quick end to probe into sunken warship with UXOs
The Ministry of Defence wants experts to quickly conclude investigations into a sunken warship, believed to be loaded with unexploded ordnance, at the bottom of the Mekong River in Kampong Cham province.
aba

General Neang Phat, Permanent Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence and chairman of the Inter-Ministerial working group to study and solve the issue, yesterday led a team to Veal village, Meanchey commune, Srey Santhor district, Kampong Cham province, to inspect the site and get the latest information.

The ship, a war remnant from the 1970s, has created concern among the people as to whether it poses a threat if it is loaded with unexploded ordnance.

Kampong Cham Provincial Governor Un Chanda told Khmer Times yesterday that the team who visited the site has sought the input of relevant experts to ascertain details of the ship and also on whether it still contained unexploded ordnance.

The fact-finding by relevant experts is being carried out as per the guidance given by the ministry.

Chanda said the Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has also been cooperating with the ministry and all the relevant authorities by giving whatever input they have while the local authorities have barred people from going to the site.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50800807/m ... with-uxos/

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On January 28, 2021, Cambodian underwater explosives experts, working with the Special Forces Command of the Ministry of National Defense, found many unexploded bombs and weapons in a shipwreck in the Mekong river, at 28 meters depth.


The forces also found the skeleton of a marine in the warship that sank in the 1970s, in Veal village, Sry Sonthor district, Kampong Cham, near Ksach Kandal district, Kandal.

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Warship Skeleton Identified

Cambodia News, (Kampong Cham): The Governor of Kampong Cham province has asked relatives to collect the items of the former Lon Nol marine soldier, whose remains were found on the submerged warship in the Mekong river.
Recently, a dive team found the bones of the former Lon Nol marine soldier named CHHIM CHHEANG-LY, which were left in the ship that was sunk in Mekong River Village, Meanchey Commune, Sry Sunkor District, Kampong Cham province. The authorities are now looking for the family.
There is an announcement to relatives, brothers and sisters, please contact with the Kampong Cham Province Administration to get his items to do traditional ceremonies.






All photos from KPSBN

[John Bingham]

Warship Skeleton Identified

Cambodia News, (Kampong Cham): The Governor of Kampong Cham province has asked relatives to collect the items of the former Lon Nol marine soldier, whose remains were found on the submerged warship in the Mekong river.
Recently, a dive team found the bones of the former Lon Nol marine soldier named CHHIM CHHEANG-LY, which were left in the ship that was sunk in Mekong River Village, Meanchey Commune, Sry Sunkor District, Kampong Cham province. The authorities are now looking for the family.
There is an announcement to relatives, brothers and sisters, please contact with the Kampong Cham Province Administration to get his items to do traditional ceremonies.






All photos from KPSBN

The family have to collect all those items?

[Bitte_Kein_Lexus]

I'm amazed those wooden crates survived underwater. Also kinda funny to see a clay jar amongst the items.

Can anyone identify the name tag it know anything about Khmer Republic uniforms? Looks like it would be from a dress/parade uniform rather than from combats.

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Warship on track for April salvage
Nov Sivutha | Publication date 23 March 2021 | 22:52 ICT

If nothing changes, the team searching for unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the warship which was sunk in the Mekong River in Meanchey commune’s Veal village of Kampong Cham province’s Srei Santhor district during the Cambodian civil war in the 1970s, would be completed in late March and the warship would be salvaged in early April.

Mey Sophea, commander of the UXO Clearance Unit of the National Centre for Peacekeeping Force and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance (NPMEC-ERW), told The Post on March 23 that his specialist team was working with the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port’s specialist working group to determine the appropriate procedures to raise the warship. The wreck was old, dilapidated and damaged in many places.

According to Sophea under the instruction of Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, he wants to keep the ship in its original shape to be displayed in a museum for future generations to study. A museum is planned to be built for storing and exhibiting unexploded ordnances.

He added that the working group is searching in four other locations in the Mekong River in Kandal and Prey Veng provinces.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... il-salvage