A mobile telephone belonging to the missing chief engineer of a ship found abandoned off Australia has been used to make more than 80 calls from Indonesia, adding to the mystery over the fate of the crew.
Australian police said they are baffled by the discovery of a fishing boat full of rotting fish but no crew or life rafts, drifting off the remote north-west coast.
"Relatives of the chief engineer received an unusually high phone bill after the ship was reported missing," a spokesman from Taiwan's Fisheries Association said.
"Phone records show recent calls were made from Bali, Indonesia."
The 20-metre High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying an Indonesian flag, had 10 Indonesian crew members plus the captain and chief engineer from Taiwan.
A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors, life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tonnes of rotting mackerel and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fishermen, not people smugglers.
Australian police said conditions on board the ship were good and the ship appeared well-equipped and seaworthy.
In addition, weather in the area has been calm for weeks.