The Tek Sing, one of the large ocean going Junks that had once dominated China’s trade with the world, was one of the few remaining as terrible instability brought on by the importation of Opium rocked China’s economy. Overloaded and overcrowded the captain turned to the Gaspar Strait as a short cut to get them quickly to Dutch Batavia. Short cuts often come with a cost, but in this case the cost was unusually high, and estimated 1,600 to 1,800 lives.
Ship Name: Tek Sing (True Star)
Tonnage: Around 1000 tons
Port of Origin: Amoy, China
Ship Type:Ocean Going Chinese Junk
Sank: 1822
Reason For Sinking: Struck the rocks of Kar Belvidere
Lives Lost: Estimated from 1,600 to 1,800
Sources:
http://www.koh-antique.com/discovery/teksing1.html
https://fr.unesco.org/silkroad/node/9007
http://english.scio.gov.cn/in-depth/2019-08/14/content_75098407.htm
https://www.nauticalia.com/treasures-of-the-tek-sing-true-star/
https://www.antiquities.co.uk/collections/tek-sing-shipwreck-pottery/
