In 1952, Japanese oceanographic research vessel Kaiyō Maru No. 5 was sent to investigate
the mysterious disappearances of nine other Japanese ships in the same notorious location
– The Dragon’s Triangle. This mission proved to be unsuccessful, as Kaiyo Maru also
vanished with no trace. Is this story just a myth, or is something really strange happening
in the Bermuda Triangle of the Pacific Ocean? Among all sea mysteries involving lost ships,
the Bermuda Triangle holds a very special place. It always seemed like this spot, which
became the demise of many ships and planes, just stole the show. But did you know that
there are about 12 small sea regions with a similarly bad reputation, and sometimes
even worse? They’re called Vile Vortices. This term was coined by Scottish biologist
Ivan Sanderson, who became the founder of a society interested in investigating unexplained
mysteries. He called 12 Vile Vortices a geometric anomaly,
since all of them were equally distant from each other and collectively, they resembled
a nearly perfect icosahedron when overlaid on the world map. All of these places were
notorious for stories about missing people and sometimes whole vessels with their crew.
Ivan Sanderson couldn’t come up with an explanation for all the disappearances for
a long time, even when he saw a clear pattern. This geometrical shape formed on the globe
by “bad places” couldn’t just be a coincidence. And then he saw that Vile Vortices often share
one noticeable quality: these were the places where hot and cold air streams or hot and
cold sea currents met each other. According to his idea, this kind of collision could
produce electromagnetic irregularities that are yet to be scientifically explained.
Of course, Sanderson’s claims weren’t widely accepted, but one thing still can’t
be overlooked as simple superstition. Those places are real, and they really are guilty
of countless mysterious disappearances. One of these spots is so frightening, it’s actually
strange that it’s not as widely known as the Bermuda Triangle.
It’s situated on the opposite side of the globe from the Bermuda Triangle, really close
to Tokyo, Japan. Throughout history, it’s earned itself several menacing names like
the Devil’s Sea, Pacific Bermuda Triangle, and the Dragon’s Triangle. Japanese people
call it “ma no umi”, which means “evil sea”. Even though a lot of places around
the Japanese islands deserve this name, the Dragon’s Triangle remains the most known
and feared of them all. Due to the lack of research, it’s hard to
outline precisely where the Dragon’s triangle actually begins and ends, but it supposedly
lies in an area of Izu Islands south of Tokyo. It’s there that seamen from the ancient
times saw lights in the water and spontaneous unexplainable turbulence on the surface of
the sea. Sometimes giant rogue waves were emerging seemingly from nowhere, and sometimes
vile typhoons would appear in just a matter of minutes from clear blue skies. In fact,
that’s why this Vile Vortex was called the Dragon’s Triangle in the first place. Since
ancient times, local fisherman believed that there was a sea dragon that lived on the bottom
near the Izu Islands. They thought the dragon’s will could summon typhoons, its movements
were releasing huge waves, and its magic breath was the reason for lights and giant gas bubbles
appearing near the surface. But strangely enough, that wasn’t the reason
why this place became so notorious. It’s even worth noting that Japanese people traditionally
tend to live in peace with the supernatural world, and dragons certainly weren’t always
considered a bad thing back then. One particular account credits a dragon as their hero.
This story is the beginning of the alleged supernatural events linked to the Dragon’s
Triangle. In the 13th century, Mongolian Khan Kublai, the grandson of Genghis Khan, planned
an invasion of the Japanese islands. 900 ships full of soldiers and sailors were sent to
cross the Dragon’s Triangle for this purpose. When they came near the shore, one of those
unpredictable typhoons began suddenly. It crumbled most of the Kublai Khan’s ships
and ruined his plans once and for all. Even the word “kamikaze” was first used there
to describe this typhoon. “Kamikaze” means “the divine wind” and that’s a good
testament to how fearsome this storm was. So, was it a dragon spirit protecting his
land, or maybe the strange electromagnetic force of the Dragon’s Triangle? It’s hard
to be sure; but it doesn’t look that supernatural. Mongolians were experienced nomadic warriors
- excellent with bows, arrows and their mighty steeds. But in no way, shape or form were
they the best at sailing. Keep in mind that typhoons around Japan are not rare in general,
and you’ll have a perfectly explainable natural event, accompanied by the inability
of Mongolian ships to deal with it. But that’s only the beginning of the story
of the Dragon’s Triangle. Most of its bad reputation was earned in 1974 when a writer
and investigator of the supernatural, Charles Berlitz, released his book “The Bermuda
Triangle”. According to Berlitz, there were 9 strange disappearances in the 50s in the
location of the Dragon’s Triangle. All of the missing ships were modern, properly equipped
Japanese naval vessels, and the weather was good; they wouldn’t just vanish without
a trace! Soon, Japanese authorities attempted an investigation and sent research vessel
Kaiyō Maru No. 5, but it also vanished, and in the same almost ideal weather conditions.
If you believe Charles Berlitz’s account of events, Kaiyo Maru No. 5 had 100 people
that were never seen again after setting off to the Dragon’s Triangle. Japanese authorities
then restricted all further investigations, and labeled the spot a danger zone. But the
fact is, there were only 31 people on board Kaiyo Maro No. 5. Berlitz also claimed that
some missing ships were as massive as 200,000-ton tankers, and that disappearances were happening
frequently for thousands of years. You know something fishy is going on when stories are
that exaggerated. And to be fair, the most paranormal thing
about this story is how many people believed in it. The only person with enough skepticism
to conduct his own investigation of events was a modest librarian, Larry Kushe. In 1974
he released a book called “The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved”. In this book, he debunked
lots of stories linked to the Bermuda Triangle, but he didn’t forget about Berlitz’s story
of the Dragon’s Triangle either. He was really persistent in his attempts to
contact Japanese authorities and newspapers, but he failed to find anything about the Dragon’s
Triangle. This area and all its supposed hazards were almost entirely unknown to Japan! Furthermore,
Kushe was able to figure out that all 9 nine missing ships that vanished near the Izu Islands
in the 50s were small fishing vessels – the most vulnerable ships out there. At the time,
these ships were poorly equipped, and some of them didn’t even have any way to transmit
an SOS signal. When ships like that would sink, it would seem like they just vanished.
But what about the tragic fate of Kaiyo Maru No. 5? That ship was surely prepared for anything!
And why was it sent there if nothing strange happened? Well, first of all, the research
ship wasn’t investigating any strange vanishings of other ships. It was on a routine survey
of volcanic activity in the region. The second thing, and the most important, the ship was
later found, and its demise was due to a sudden volcanic eruption.
So, no mystery here? Nothing supernatural it seems, but let’s not forget about the
most mysterious thing that actually exists – nature itself. I didn’t overlook all
the ancient evidence about lights in the water and strange occurrences on the surface. They
actually do have an explanation, and the coolest one at that.
Japan is based upon volcanoes; all the islands here are the product of their underground
activity. Countless little volcanic pores are scattered along the bottom of the ocean
around Japan. Their eruptions would look like flashes of light coming from the water. The
water around would grumble and appear unstable, as if something is moving and roaring in the
depths. And more than that, eruptions may disturb vast deposits of methane hydrate lying
on the cold bottom. Here it’s contained by high pressure and low temperatures as a
solid, ice-like object. But if this substance goes to the surface and reaches 64 °, it
rapidly transforms into a gas state. From the surface it would look like the sea itself
swallows whatever’s unlucky enough to be in the way of a giant gas bubble coming up.
Call me a superstitious coward, but I would probably say that it’s some kind of monster
or alien vessel attack if I saw something like that in person! No wonder people were
believing in sea dragons living in the Izu Islands area.
Anyway, its story is a good reminder that there are no mysteries that we can’t solve
if we try. Have you ever debunked someone’s tale, and how did you do it? Let me know down
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