Moynaq Ship Graveyard
The Moynaq Ship Graveyard is an evocative desert landscape of rusting fishing trawlers stranded on the dry bed of the Aral Sea in northern Karakalpakstan. Once a thriving Soviet seaport producing tens of thousands of tons of fish annually, Moynaq was devastated when Soviet agricultural irrigation diverted the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, causing the Aral Sea to shrink dramatically and retreat over one hundred and fifty kilometers. Today, the rusted hulks of the commercial fishing fleet rest on the Aralkum Desert floor beneath the cliff where the harbor once buzzed with life. Visitors, local elders, and travelers report phantom foghorns echoing across the dry desert, disembodied engine chugs, and the ghostly specters of former mariners walking among the hollow iron hulls.