TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An empty freighter was found drifting off New Taipei City Friday (September 27) morning, leading investigators to believe it hailed from China despite the absence of any obvious identification marks.

The Coast Guard was notified at 4:45 a.m. that the ship 27 nautical miles northeast from Sandiaojiao or Sandiao Cape in New Taipei City, the Central News Agency reported.

The agency immediately sent ships to the site, where they arrived around 9:50 a.m. to find the vessel did not bear a name and had no crew on board. Nevertheless, the Coast Guard assumed it had come from China, and more precisely the city of Wuhu in the province of Anhui, though the report provided no indication of the reason for this theory.

The wind and the ocean currents were pushing the freighter ever closer to the shore, CNA reported.

Radio broadcasts were warning other ships to stay away, while the authorities were preparing the necessary vessel to tow the “ghost ship” away.