• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Incredible story of teen who survived 49 days lost at sea on floating fish trap

Home> News

Published 16:05 15 Oct 2025 GMT+1

Incredible story of teen who survived 49 days lost at sea on floating fish trap

He traveled over 1,200 miles in the process

Harry Boulton

Harry Boulton

There are few more frightening prospects than getting lost in the vast expanse of the ocean, yet one teenage boy miraculously managed to survive for nearly two months on a wooden boat before he was eventually rescued.

The ocean is full of horrors that remain a constant threat to your life, and nature itself is arguably the biggest danger as you're not only exposed to the beating rays of the Sun, but also at risk of getting caught up in a storm that could lead to your demise.

Insane footage has shown the final hours of a diver who was eventually rescued as he truly believed that all hope is lost, and one look underneath the hull of a cruise ship will have you fearful of getting near the sea for a long while.

One Indonesian teenager became stranded in the ocean after strong winds broke a rope keeping him safe (Algi Febri Sugita/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
One Indonesian teenager became stranded in the ocean after strong winds broke a rope keeping him safe (Algi Febri Sugita/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Advert

Indonesian teenager Aldi Novel Adilang found himself in a situation that would be everyone's nightmare though after a fishing boat that he was working on became adrift after a storm, and it wasn't until 49 days after that incident that he was finally brought back to land, as reported by Supercar Blondie.

He was working on a small wooden fishing boat called a rompong that broadly resembles a tiny hut, but in July 2018 strong winds snapped the boat's mooring roam causing the vessel to start to drift away into the ocean.

He managed to survive by catching fish and cooking them inside of the hut with burning wood fires, and he also attempted to use smoke from those fires to signal for help.

Eventually that help did arrive – although not before 10 previous ships passed him by without stopping, presumably unable to spot or notice the tiny raft floating by them.

Advert

He was eventually rescued after 10 ships had passed him by (Getty Stock)
He was eventually rescued after 10 ships had passed him by (Getty Stock)

It was the massive MV Arpeggio tanker that came to his rescue though, as he was able to radio over a cry for help that almost didn't work. The tanker initially passed him by like the ten others, before eventually turning around and saving him from the horrors of the sea.

In total Aldi and his rompong had drifted around 1,200 miles from their original location across the 49 days that they were stranded in the ocean, and his nightmare ended when he finally was able to swim over to the MV Arpeggio and be pulled up onto the ship to safety.

He stopped off in Japan at first in order to receive medical treatment before returning to his native Indonesia, and has since vowed never to set foot back on the rompong that provided his livelihood for over three years prior.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock
Discovery
Earth

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    an hour ago

    World's second richest man forced to rename yacht after realizing it spells out horrific three-word phrase

    The mogul got into hot water when choosing the name for his 191-foot yacht

    News
  • Lisa Schaetzle / Getty
    2 hours ago

    Exactly which cancers are linked to major lunch food officially classed as carcinogen by World Health Organization

    That quick sandwich could be shaving years off your life

    News
  • HONOR
    3 hours ago

    New smartphone seriously rivals iPhone with insane new camera feature

    The Magic8 Pro might be a game changer for night photography

    News
  • Flickr/GAURAV AGRAWAL
    4 hours ago

    How innocent photo of Montana ended up breaking millions of Android phones worldwide

    The Glacier National Park has a lot to answer for

    News
  • ‘Lost City’ discovered deep beneath the ocean holds incredible structures standing 200 feet tall
  • Incredible story of how three astronauts survived after getting lost in space more than 50 years ago
  • Man who was lost at sea for 438 days reveals the one thing he had to help him survive that his crewmate didn't