The Flying Dutchman from the movies

Photo: iStock

In October 2024, a rumor spread that a ghost ship from the 18th century washed up near St. Augustine, Florida. This alleged event occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on October 9, 2024. Social media posts, including a notable one from the Facebook page Casper Planet, included an image of an old wooden ship stranded on a sandbank. The post attracted a lot of attention, claiming that a fully intact ghost ship from the 18th century emerged from the ocean.

However, the photo was there NOT of an 18th century ghost ship, but rather a prop used in one of Disney’s best films of all time.

Origin of the rumor

The photo was uploaded by Casper Planet on October 16, 2024 with the description: “18th century ghost ship washes up in Florida after Hurricane Milton.” The article explained the mysterious appearance of the ship, as it is said to have emerged from the depths of the ocean. Locals and experts were left stunned by the historic ship’s unexpected arrival as the Category 4 storm raged across the Atlantic Ocean.

In a short time, the post received 1,700 comments and 2,200 comments. Many users expressed doubt about the claims. The reactions ranged from doubting the veracity of the photo to expressing complete disbelief. “Yes…that is definitely not the water in or near St. Aug,” said one commenter. “Is this actually real or an AI-generated message?” another person asked.

Image identification

After further investigation, it was discovered that the image of the message had been included the Flying Dutchmana prop ship from Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series. The ship made its debut in the 2006 film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’, the second installment in the franchise. According to several Disney fan blogs, the Flying Dutchman was seen off the coast of Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas, from 2006 to 2010.

This identity was confirmed via reverse image searches using TinEye and Google Images. Compared to other internet images and movies, it was clear how similar the ship in the Casper Planet article was to the Flying Dutchman. Photos of the ship taken between 2006 and 2010 were widely shown on websites such as YouTube, Flickr and TripAdvisor.

Source Credibility

Casper Planet is known for producing humorous and satirical content. The About section of the page says: “Delivering the Snews that don’t directly matter in your Snews feed. Did we say this is satire? Satire, satire, humor, satire and opinions; names and locations are fabricated.” This warning makes it clear that the messages are not intended to be interpreted as true news.

It has already been established that Casper Planet’s material is satirical. The website has previously made bizarre claims, such as a photo purporting to show Mickey Mouse dropping a child at Disneyland. For humorous effect, these stories are usually based on invented or exaggerated elements.

Conclusion

The satirical Facebook post that started the ghost ship rumor was the source of the misinformation and conjecture on social media. The story that an 18th century ghost ship washed ashore in St. Augustine during Hurricane Milton is not supported by any evidence. Instead of a real ship from the eighteenth century, the image at the center of the debate was a well-known propeller ship, the Flying Dutchman, from The pirates of the Caribbean.