Did a 1700's Ghost Ship wash ashore in Florida? Viral St Augustine post debunked
An image claiming to be of a 1700s Ghost Ship went viral on Facebook on October 16. Casper Planet — the page posting the photo, claimed the vessel had washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida on Wednesday following Hurricane Milton.
Casper Planet wrote:
"The mysterious vessel, which had been lost to time, emerged from the ocean’s depths as the Category 4 storm churned the Atlantic, sending the ancient ship onto the beach."
Authorities supposedly blocked the area to prevent people from entering the "fragile vessel". Casper Planet claimed it was likely a merchant ship built in the late 18th century.
The Hurricane supposedly triggered the ship to emerge from the "underwater graveyard of shipwrecks", as per experts — stated in the Facebook post.
The page mentioned Dr. Andrew Clarke — claiming him to be a marine archaeologist who purportedly commented on the unexpected event:
"This is unprecedented. To see a ship this old, in such good condition, simply appear out of the ocean during a hurricane—it’s both fascinating and chilling."
Casper Planet wrote no human or shipment was found inside the ship, leading its surfacing to evoke mystery. A further claim was that residents around the bay "reported hearing strange sounds near the site", drawing a supernatural connection to the ship.
Authorities allegedly appointed guards to watch over the vessel until archaeological experts could record everything within the ship.
However, it is to be noted that the image of the Ghost ship in the post is from the second installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Dead Man's Chest.
The ship in the movie was called the Flying Dutchman — a notorious ghost ship where supernatural things take place and is feared by all.
Viral claim about a 1700's Ghost Ship resurfacing in Florida is false
The Facebook page Casper Planet posting about the 1700s Ghost Ship has mentioned in their bio that they only post satire:
"Delivering the Snews that doesn’t matter directly to your Snews feed. Did we say this is satire? Satire,/ satire, humor, satire and opinion,/ names/locations are made up"
They shared a follow-up screenshot capturing a conversation that supposedly brewed between the page admin and a viewer who stumbled upon the satirical post.
There, the viewer asserted the picture in the post was not from Hurricane Milton, but from the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 movie.
The admin admitted to being aware of the picture's origin but refused to edit the post's caption so that viewers are not misled by it. Casper Planet said their page is already tagged as "satire" and "People should research".
Despite the seemingly dismissive response from the page, it is confirmed that the claims made in the post are fabricated.