Ghost ship

A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the Flying Dutchman, or a physical derelict found adrift with its crew missing or dead, like the Mary Celeste. The term is sometimes used for ships that have been decommissioned but not yet scrapped, as well as drifting boats that have been found after breaking loose of their ropes and being carried away by the wind or the waves.

Typically, derelict ghost ships did not remain adrift for very long, though there have been ghost ships that have been reported to remain adrift for many years, and their fates have remained unknown, such as SS Baychimo and Governor Parr.

More recently, ships which travel with their mandated automatic identification system (AIS) turned off to avoid detection and monitoring have also been referred to as ghost ships.