MANILA – Reports reaching Manila indicated that a still unidentified man, initially believed to be a German national, was found dead late Friday afternoon on board a yacht drifting in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Barobo town in Surigao del Sur. See news reports below.

Published 9 years ago, updated 6 years ago

Update 7 March, 2016

Ghost yacht carrying mummified sailor originally discovered by Clipper Round The World crew – YBW.com

Mummified sailor: Clipper Race statement

Posted 29 February, 2016

Read full report at http://www.interaksyon.com/article/124610/foreigner-found-dead-on-yacht-off-barobo-surigao-del-sur [BROKEN LINK]

According to a police report Saturday received at the Philippine National Police (PNP) National Operation Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City, at around 4:30 p.m. Friday the Barobo Municipal Police Station (MPS) received a telephone call from a concerned citizen that a yacht could be seen idling off the coast.

The police identified the concerned citizen who made the call as Christopher Rivas, 23 years old, and a resident of P-4 Poblacion, Barobo town in Surigao del Sur.

Initial investigation by the police indicated that Rivas and an unidentified companion were out at sea fishing when, as they were about to go home, they noticed the white yacht with a destroyed sail, prompting them to board the yacht to investigate.

The police report said that when Rivas took a peep inside the yacht, he noticed a male person lifeless and already in a state of partial decomposition in a sitting position at the right portion of the yacht, believed to be the radio room.

The police report added that Rivas and his companion decided to tow the yacht toward Barobo and, while underway, contacted Rivas’ friends through a handheld radio.

Rivas and his companion arrived at Barobo around 3 p.m. Friday, but on account of low tide was anchored at the deeper water.

Personnel of the Barobo MPS, led by SPO4 Elecito Rivas, and MESPO personnel proceeded to the area to conduct an investigation.

The police discovered that the yacht, through documents recovered at the scene, apparently belongs to a certain Manfred Fritz Bajorat, of German nationality, and that the boat’s name was ‘SAJO’.

Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and a rescue team from the Barobo local government unit also came, while Barobo MPS requested Scene Of Crime Operatives (SOCO) from Tandag City Crime Laboratory to undertake an examination and see to the proper disposition of the cadaver.

Posted 4 March, 2016 – By Huffington Post

Ghost Yacht Found With Mummified Body Of German Adventurer Still At Desk, After Years Sailing The World

The mummified body of a German adventurer has been discovered on board his yacht, seven years after the vessel was last spotted, leading to speculation the boat and sailor may have been drifting around the world for years.

Manfred Fritz Bajorat was found by two fishermen at the weekend, 40 miles from the coast of the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean, in a cabin strewn with photo albums, clothes, and tins of food. The 59-year-old was found hunched over a desk near the radiotelephone of his 40ft yacht, Sayo.

The mast of the yacht was broken and much of the cabin was underwater, but what killed the skipper is unclear, though experts believe his position at the desk suggests his death was unexpected.

Dry ocean winds, hot temperatures, and the salty air helped preserve Bajorat’s body.

The sailor was identified by paperwork found on the vessel. Police are trying to retrace Bajorat’s last voyages and contact people he may have met or spoken to, to pinpoint when he died.

Bajorat’s wife had been traveling with him, but they broke up in 2008.

In 2009, in Mallorca, Bajorat met another world sailer called Dieter who told Germany’s BILD newspaper: “He was a very experienced sailor. I don’t believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead.”

Bajorat body was taken for an autopsy in Butuan City and his yacht was towed for a police inspection into the port of Barobo.

Police spokeswoman Goldie Lou Siega in the Philippines said: “We have no evidence of a second person aboard and no weapon was found on the yacht.”

Dr. Mark Benecke, a forensic criminologist in the city of Cologne, told BILD: “The way he is sitting seems to indicate that death was unexpected, perhaps from a heart attack.”

The German embassy in Manila is working with local officials to trace Bajorat’s family in Germany. It is believed he has a daughter called Nina who works as the captain of a freight vessel.

The 40-foot long yacht, named SAYO, had been cruising around the world for the past 20 years.