I'm a former US Navy Operations Specialists. We were pulling into Chile for there naval birthday and parade celebration there was a Chinese Hospital ship already in port for the parade, looking through our Ship Optical system (a high powered camera) we could help notice the vast amount of antennas on top of the ship....

@robertlee6338

26 күн бұрын

lol LIKE WE DONT DO IT.... We got caught red handed bugging German Chancellor, French President and South Korean Parliament including the President lol

@tonytrujillo1145

26 күн бұрын

@@robertlee6338 never said we didn't

@paladro

25 күн бұрын

@@tonytrujillo1145 never gonna stop neither )

@micphoenix8200

24 күн бұрын

China's biggest import is U.S. military and tech secrets that have been stolen by Israel

@maplobats

24 күн бұрын

So when spying on a Chinese hospital ship, you saw antenntas...and that makes them the spies?

Shocked that the Glomar Explorer wasn't brought up. I mean, building a scientific research vessel with the sole purpose of recovering a Soviet nuclear submarine kinda meets the criteria.

@keithmoore5306

26 күн бұрын

doesn't count the Glomar wasn't actively monitoring communications or activity at best it was a recovery crane! now the USS Halibut that found K129 qualifies for a spy ship!

@jwolf4948

24 күн бұрын

I thought about that as well, but it technically isn't a spy ship, it was a recovery ship to steal technology and documents.

@jessgunn6639

24 күн бұрын

Not sure if you can really count the Glomar explorer for the minute as its command deck was blown sky high a couple of days ago lol😁

@jwolf4948

24 күн бұрын

@@jessgunn6639 is it still floating? I assumed when it was sold for scrap 9 years ago that it would be gone by now.

@jessgunn6639

23 күн бұрын

@@jwolf4948 sorry I got over excited and mixed it up with the kommuna

I love the idea of any nation having a government-funded (even partially) vessel with cutting edge sensor equipment and not using it, to whatever extent, to gather intelligence. If the Royal Navy was secretly arming merchant ships 109 years ago, it would be very odd if they, along with everyone else, weren't doing vaguely similar things now, but 109 years more advanced.

@claytondennis8034

26 күн бұрын

Have you heard of the Glomar Explorer?

@ApothecaryTerry

26 күн бұрын

@@claytondennis8034 I had to check the name, but I'm familiar with the K-129 story. It's a great example of how far governments will go to try and cover this stuff up!

@danielcannon3511

26 күн бұрын

Look up Uss liberty

@phalanx3803

26 күн бұрын

@@claytondennis8034 how can one forget its where the Glomar response was born "i can neither confirm nor deny". fun fact there is a documentary about it called Neither Confirm Nor Deny.

@AriManPad8gi

25 күн бұрын

everyone's doing it. just no solid evidence to pin on anyone to be sure. wouldn't be even vaguely surprised. but like anyone reasonable, preferring to withhold firm words to say such bcz of said lack. exactly.

The line between civilian scientific and military 'oceanography' is gray and fuzzy! Considering China has an integrated civilian/military infrastructure, I'd be surprised if they didn't. So yes, they have one. And so do many other nations.

Completely ignorant conjecture on my part but here's my theory: trip north provides framing and plausible deniability, and when they were closest to Taiwan, they were picking up their surveillance drones

Yes on the Independence and the Kitty Hawk I have personally seen the China spy fleet and the Russian spy fleet ships. Using yachts is a low cost instead of military craft.

@kagen12

26 күн бұрын

They sent Them all the Way up to American waters to spy on you, since you could see Them?

@Daginni1

26 күн бұрын

"Fishing Boats" that don't cast nets/traps, and "Yachts" that port at military docks, all with curious monitoring equipment.

@yoranthium

26 күн бұрын

@@Daginni1 A lot of military families own yachts from being in the Navy. Its something about land it doesn't feel right. Not to unusual for civilian looking ships to be in military ports if you are in the military and live on the Naval base. One of my favorite things when stationed in Japan was the travel vouchers for the highway. I could rent a car and travel all of Japan and not worry about their tolls.

@CountryAndProud

14 күн бұрын

​@@yoranthium😂😂 you still can't just stroll into a military port with a civilian ship just because you used to be in the military...that's not how it works😂😂😂

@yoranthium

14 күн бұрын

Yes you can if you have a Radio and a Registry when challenged upon entry to the port. It's why Yachts come with a radio. Take my word for it I worked in many Navy and Civilian boat yards.

Without actually watching the video.... the answer is YES. But it's nothing new or unique. 10 year US Navy Veteran.

@neubauerjoseph

25 күн бұрын

The two countries who gave spy ships are China 🇨🇳 and Russia 🇷🇺. So much so I couldn’t talk in anyway about ships movement or ops they told use we had to talk about other things because they might be spying 🕵️ on our conversations

The UK's David Attenborough so called "research vessel" is also one of these. I live not far from Cammel Lairds, the shipyard in which it was built along side Type 45 and frigate refurbishments. Large, black wrapped equipment was craned on to the ship many times under military armed guard.

As usual, superb writing and execution.

This feels like a Warographics video

@RussetPotato

23 күн бұрын

Indeed.

Shouldn't this be on Into the Shadows? 😏 An odd Megaprojects. No matter, im going to enjoy this regardless.

@9HighFlyer9

26 күн бұрын

If you haven't watched how could you say that it's an odd subject?

@eaphantom9214

26 күн бұрын

​@9HighFlyer9 Lol 😅 I have watched it and I stand by what I initially said

@eaphantom9214

26 күн бұрын

​@9HighFlyer9 Oh yeah and to describe something as odd in hindsight is relatively common too 😅

The resolution of said ruckus. I love it 😂😂

I...kind of presumed they had one already. I figured most major nations would. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Now if warographics could get back to this style of reporting that would be great. No very obvious bias and straight facts exactly why I love the Whistlerverse and its content. Oh and Simon or writers y’all can happily use Whistlerverse if you think it’s good.

Even their merchant marine fleet carries out clandestine operations in coordination with the “coast guard”.

Can't the ship do both things. It reminds me of when the US Navy funded a search for the Titanic so they could find a Russian submarine that had sunk.

@CrisMind

25 күн бұрын

Mainly to find the Scorpion and the Thresher The only 2 US nuclear subs that were lost at sea * US Navy submariner, and I've met Mr Ballard, really fun to learn about

1:05 - Chapter 1 - The zhuahai cloud 11:00 - Chapter 2 - Those in glass house

@tjj300

24 күн бұрын

Don't make the major mistake that every government is morally equivalent.

These ships look quite innocent in comparison to the chinese paramilitary shipping fleet.

Hello Simon, you make KZread worth switching on the TV keep it up mate from a fellow Brit Everything you do is so informative I love the mega projects😊😊😊😊

its for monarch kaiju research

Quite an exciting video on something not really talked about in history books.

could you do a vid on chernobly? i realy would like to see another nuclear power plant vid

Glad i watched this before it gets taken down.

Good one fact boy

The one thing I can say for certain about her is, she is one beautiful ship!!

Noah was just doing oceanagraphic research. It was only by chance that he had all of his pets aboard.

@Black_Sun_Dark_Star

26 күн бұрын

🤣🤣🤣🤣 He was working for Angels. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Nice analysis. Your writer should've been a navy intelligence analyst.

How is this news day? It's a normal Tuesday!

That they didn't have spy ships, that would be news.

Why is this on MegaProjects and not Warographics or Into the Shadows?

I always thought that their fishing fleets are spy ships

@Daginni1

26 күн бұрын

That or they are sucking up all the fish in other countries waters, leaving them dry. (While also being a listening post)

shouldnt even be a question at this point.

Let's be honest here, if they don't have a secret spy fleet then someone isn't doing their job...

Well...DUH!! We are not all simpletons.

Refering to the entire Pacific theater of WWII as a "little ruckus starting in Hawaii"... absolutely gold

A bulbous bow doesn’t necessarily indicate anything, it’s a fuel saving measure to even out the water line that runs along the hull as the ship makes way through the water.

can you make a video about the F-20 tigershark

of course it's a spy ship even a fart over there has a military connection!!!

100% yes

I think the idea of a spy ship goes back a bit further than what's mentioned in the vid. probably by thousand of years.

One of the captured USS Pueblo sailors spoke at my high school graduation.

The phrase "US condoned Chinese research" does make one wonder. More importantly. The subject ship does look a lot like Stingray. If Gerry Anderson or his decendants are taking note. There may be some copyright infringement! Lol. Great video as usual.

Here's a challenge. Watch the show Deadliest Catch. Pay attention to the boats in the distance. If you see one with more than 5 antennas, that's a spy ship (either Chinese or Russian).

This episode of Megaprojects is brought to you by the word 'Allegedly'.

I just always assume that every Chinese vessel is a military ship. Including the hundreds of Cosco owned ships docked at American and European ports on a daily basis. Thousands of shipping containers, if only a handful held nukes the world would collapse.😢😢

@Daginni1

26 күн бұрын

If it carries the CCP Flag, it is up to no good.

During the Cold War, the Soviets were blatant with respects to their fishing trawlers. I saw one on the back side of Maui during a landscape photo trip. It was a rust bucket that was painted red. On the top was a really big white dome, which looked like the upper two-thirds of an incandescent light bulb. The edge of the roof was covered with antennas. The local TV stations also got wind of the vessel and sent aerial crews to tape footage for the evening news. This occurred at the same time one of our (US) submarines sailed between Lanai and Maui on the surface, which p**sed off quite a few locals.

This story is like when another Civ (in civ 6) sends a scout to your territory, then they stick around a little too long. So you send a singer over and the scout runs off. Was it a scouting run, or are the assessing the defenses if they were to attack?

@backnforth8401

26 күн бұрын

20 turns later, they have one of your cities surrounded and they say they are just passing by.

Gotta love the fact that China’s spy fleet is so pitiful that Megaprojects has a video just calling out their ships

"If it quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck"

But Simon... China and Russia have the opinion that all assets in the nation are state assets. And will use them to an extent that would even make the Stasi envious! But they are also very clever at hiding it behind the veil of plausible explanations of civilian use. After all, a private yacht can go anywhere. and they just happen to have their military grade survey equipment running at all times......

I don’t really have an issue with it. I’d be surprised if they didn’t

well... Simon, why don't you do one about the Japanese "Antarctic scientific research" vessel? Or is that too controversial?

I need an autograph Simon

@ApothecaryTerry

26 күн бұрын

I have a similar sensation in my core, a strong need for...oh wait no, it was just gas.

Thats kind of a dumb question. Every nuclear armed nation has at least one ship that's a spy ship rather they announce it or not. Let's not forget. In late 2023 and early 2024, an Iranian ship that was in the red Sea was always nearby when the Houthis launched missiles and drones at ships. The U.S. accused it of being an Iranian spy ship. Where it went, so did the drones and missiles go. The U.S launched a cyber attack on it and the attacks died down a bit shortly after.

The Peanut Farmer is putting in work.

Does a Bear sh*t n the woods?

All hail our robotic underlords. No really, hail them, or they'll surface at night and shoot your super yacht

Secret😂😂😂😂

@Daginni1

26 күн бұрын

More like "Wat yu gonnah do about it Amerhicah?"

Well, they’d be pretty silly not to have a spy fleet. As a US military veteran, I’m absolutely sure we have them, not because I’m privy to any insider information but because I know how valuable they’d be. It would be irresponsible of our government not to have such vessels. Similarly, I have to conclude that Chinese leaders made the same decision in the support of their national interests.

Why is this a surprise? Every great power and Evan some lasser powers have spy ships? Par for the course.

Yeah, you lost me at harrier. I still call em jump jets, btw what is faster 2wd or 4wd?

The answer is no because saying yes would be a paradox

Let me guess, you didn't know that Bob Ballard's search for Titanic was a cover story for a classified US Navy operation to find sunked US submarines.

@Plaprad

26 күн бұрын

1) Probably not. 2) I think he's done about a dozen videos on the topic. Gotta love Simons unreliable memory.

Hear me out here, what if these ships are doing actual marine research. Because they all appear to be returning to submarine bases I think that they are mapping the sea floor so they can provide accurate maps for the submarine fleets. That's not saying they're not pulling double duties and doing a bit of spying on the side.

Honestly, this is pretty plausible. Most of Chinese manufacturing has civilian and military purpose dual purpose, if you could say.

To answer the primary question…most likely. It’s probably there, probably wider spread, and probably simpler than you think.

With every move he makes another chance he takes Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow Secret agent man Secret agent man They've given you a number, and taken away your name

It’s like Beau of the fifth says. “ Foreign Policy is an international poker game where everyone is cheating“

Of course the Chinese have secret spy ships. All the super powers do.

Watch this from 10.07 So what if it is???

What kind of spy fleet would you expect it to have?

When quoting a source with "From the horses mouth at 2:00 please play or link the source video for us to independently translate, I don't speak mandarin but I'm sure many commenters do and I also have access to people who do and can verify that info to add legitimacy to your claims. it would ease my mind if you could confidently supply your claims easily without having to spend an evening verifying your essay independently

@rougedogo152

26 күн бұрын

Don't get me wrong, im an auusie, hatting on the CCP is like drinking beer, but if im going to be racist i would like a source to back up my rampant hate /s

Simon says he won't continue to speculate on what is or is not a US spy ship on account of he doesn't want to jeopardize his CIA funding from Mockingbird

civilian spy fleet eh? what i'm hearing is we should be bringing back privateers.

Anyone catch the dolphin breaching in the old WWII film at 13:23?

OK Let's say it is a spy fleet. What is wrong with that?

Kinda like their water powered missiles and rockets.

No reason there couldn't be a "black box" of electronics installed someplace behind a few bulkheads that was attached to every antenna and piece of equipment capable of detecting RF energy which collected every bit of spectrum that could be detected. It could then compile everything and burst it out via some kind of satellite communications system. If it was geo fenced to only do this when far(ish) out to sea, it could easily do this and remain undetected. I'd be surprised if every ship constructed in china didn't have something like this built in, with the owners/operators (potentially) completely unaware. If the systems were low power enough and redundant enough then a solid state system could very well operate uninterrupted for years with no need for maintenance.

@henrygonzalez360

26 күн бұрын

I have always assumed that every Chinese owned vessels are military ships. Whether they admit it or not.

Both the US and the Soviets had totaly not military spy fleets during the cold war

🇺🇸

Yeah, can't blame the PRC for conducting activities in international areas. What I do blame the CCP for is claiming "Taiwan" belongs to them.

this isnt really anything new.. militaries around the world ALWAYS get first pick of technologies developed on their soil.. the USA has plenty of ships built for civilian purposes that were also used for military missions.. some were adapted and refitted back later while others were never needed to be changed..

There was a satellite that Was like that. It had military use, so it could destroy other satellites.

the chinese, a geat bunch of lads 😊

A nice looking ship, whatever its real purpose.

Does America, Britain, France, India..... everyone (that can afford one).. dah....doh... Homer Simpson day in the navy.

Yes, it's already well known to us in ASEAN. I just wish the American public did.

Stole everything like thieves!

Your mic picking up the sharp breaths in was wayyyy too distracting

I'm confused... Is it a video about China's "megaproject" or an illustration of China's "whataboutism"?

9:58 Also, given the fact that we're hearing about these ships via a YT channel, maybe it's not such a well-kept secret. Either that, or... Maybe you're the next Tom Clancy, pumping out all kinds of otherwise unknown military information, sending a few governments scrambling, around the world, in order to (Try to) find the source of their leaks..? Anddddd... Maybe That's why you were forced to flee your homeland, made to pack up the family and move them, and yourself...across the Continent, never gaining even a moment's rest, as you're constantly harassed, harried, and otherwise hounded relentlessly...lol

Sounds like China is late to the game on this one.

tofu dreg secret spy fleet? good luck wit dat

If you want to spread a rumour whisper it to someone as a secret.

The only reason for them to go around the other side of Taiwan, other than spying, would be smuggling.

The answer has to be no because after this video even if it did exist it wouldn't be secret.

Doesnt america have Therese chips also?

I remember when the ‘Russian trawler following US battle groups around was a cliche.

Pretty sure this is a Bond Movie plot

Secret spy ships aka 'Q-ships'