Latest news with #shipwrecks
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
New ocean expedition captures images of 13 WWII shipwrecks from major naval battles
A new ocean expedition in the South Pacific has revealed striking new images of more than a dozen ships sunk during key World War II battles. Researchers on the Ocean Exploration Trust vessel Nautilus conducted an archaeological survey of 13 shipwrecks from the Solomon Islands campaign, one of the war's fiercest naval confrontations. Using advanced remotely operated vehicles equipped with high-definition cameras and submersible drones, they also rediscovered two long-lost vessels, the USS New Orleans and the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. While some of the wrecks were first located over 30 years ago, the latest expedition allowed for a far more detailed and comprehensive survey, thanks to cutting-edge imaging technology, researchers said. 'This expedition was special, allowing us to film these sites in a manner not possible back then, as well as document other ships, while at the same time sharing our work live to the entire world,' Ocean Exploration Trust president Robert Ballard said in a statement. The wreck site, known as Iron Bottom Sound, lies in the Solomon Islands between Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela islands. Between August and December 1942, Iron Bottom Sound was the site of five major naval battles during the Second World War, resulting in the loss of more than 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels, and 1,450 aircraft. Dozens of shipwrecks lie on the seafloor at this site, just off the coast of Honiara, within a relatively compact area measuring less than 25 nautical miles wide, 40 nautical miles long, and up to 1,400 metres deep. But fewer than 100 of these American, Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand military ships and planes have been located to date. 'This survey of the ships of the United States, Australia, and Japan will add immeasurably to the understanding of one of the costliest naval campaigns in history, a campaign that hopefully will never be repeated,' said Samuel J Cox, Naval History and Heritage Command director. In the latest survey, researchers mapped more than 386 square miles of seafloor using the uncrewed surface vehicle DriX, operated by the University of New Hampshire. The crew spent nearly 140 hours exploring various wrecks using ROVs, some located more than 3,280 feet beneath the ocean's surface. For the first time, researchers took pictures of the bow that was blown off the World War II heavy cruiser USS New Orleans. The USS New Orleans was struck by a Japanese 'Long Lance' torpedo during the November 1942 Battle of Tassafaronga, off the coast of Guadalcanal. The powerful explosion sheared off nearly a third of the ship, including its entire bow, and claimed the lives of more than 180 crew members. 'The use of our uncrewed vessel allowed a tremendous increase in exploration efficiency as we were able to continuously map and identify potential targets while the Nautilus was deploying its ROVs,' said Larry Mayer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire. 'This technological achievement, combined with the tremendous historical significance of our discoveries, made this one of the most rewarding missions I have ever participated in.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
New ocean expedition captures images of 13 WWII shipwrecks from major naval battles
A new ocean expedition in the South Pacific has revealed striking new images of more than a dozen ships sunk during key World War II battles. Researchers on the Ocean Exploration Trust vessel Nautilus conducted an archaeological survey of 13 shipwrecks from the Solomon Islands campaign, one of the war's fiercest naval confrontations. Using advanced remotely operated vehicles equipped with high-definition cameras and submersible drones, they also rediscovered two long-lost vessels, the USS New Orleans and the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki. While some of the wrecks were first located over 30 years ago, the latest expedition allowed for a far more detailed and comprehensive survey, thanks to cutting-edge imaging technology, researchers said. 'This expedition was special, allowing us to film these sites in a manner not possible back then, as well as document other ships, while at the same time sharing our work live to the entire world,' Ocean Exploration Trust president Robert Ballard said in a statement. The wreck site, known as Iron Bottom Sound, lies in the Solomon Islands between Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela islands. Between August and December 1942, Iron Bottom Sound was the site of five major naval battles during the Second World War, resulting in the loss of more than 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels, and 1,450 aircraft. Dozens of shipwrecks lie on the seafloor at this site, just off the coast of Honiara, within a relatively compact area measuring less than 25 nautical miles wide, 40 nautical miles long, and up to 1,400 metres deep. But fewer than 100 of these American, Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand military ships and planes have been located to date. 'This survey of the ships of the United States, Australia, and Japan will add immeasurably to the understanding of one of the costliest naval campaigns in history, a campaign that hopefully will never be repeated,' said Samuel J Cox, Naval History and Heritage Command director. In the latest survey, researchers mapped more than 386 square miles of seafloor using the uncrewed surface vehicle DriX, operated by the University of New Hampshire. The crew spent nearly 140 hours exploring various wrecks using ROVs, some located more than 3,280 feet beneath the ocean's surface. For the first time, researchers took pictures of the bow that was blown off the World War II heavy cruiser USS New Orleans. The USS New Orleans was struck by a Japanese 'Long Lance' torpedo during the November 1942 Battle of Tassafaronga, off the coast of Guadalcanal. The powerful explosion sheared off nearly a third of the ship, including its entire bow, and claimed the lives of more than 180 crew members. 'The use of our uncrewed vessel allowed a tremendous increase in exploration efficiency as we were able to continuously map and identify potential targets while the Nautilus was deploying its ROVs,' said Larry Mayer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire. 'This technological achievement, combined with the tremendous historical significance of our discoveries, made this one of the most rewarding missions I have ever participated in.'
BBC News
22-07-2025
- BBC News
The US treasure hunters who seek out violent storms
From the beaches of North Carolina to the reefs of Bermuda, powerful storms are uncovering long-lost wrecks – and you don't need to be a pro diver to discover them. As hurricane season ramps up along the US East Coast and through the Atlantic, residents brace themselves for flooded streets and battered coastlines. But for divers, snorkellers and even everyday beachgoers, storm surges can reveal something extraordinary: centuries-old shipwrecks, long-buried maritime treasures and other items that could reshape our understanding of history. In the Carolinas and Bermuda – among the world's most shipwreck-dense coastlines – hurricanes are exposing long-lost hulls, artefacts and cargo. Marine archaeologists are racing to catalogue and protect these discoveries, but increasingly, ordinary travellers are among the first on the scene. North Carolina's coast, long known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", is littered with more than 1,000 known shipwrecks, from Civil War blockade runners to German U-boats. Meanwhile, Bermuda sits atop a coral platform that has claimed more than 300 ships since the 1500s, making the infamous "Bermuda Triangle" one of the densest shipwreck zones in the world. "It's shipwreck island" and it always has been, says Philippe Rouja, Bermuda's government-appointed Custodian of Wrecks. He explains that since the island has no Indigenous population or natural resources, every ship that came to the island "was like its own little mini-Walmart", bringing everything it would need. For centuries, Bermudans salvaged those wrecks loaded with invaluable materials. Now, Rouja is charged with protecting more than 40 open-to-the public shipwrecks, as well as mapping, cataloging and studying hundreds more. During hurricanes, storm surges, waves and winds can move entire wrecks, revealing the treasures within. "Any shipwreck that you think you know, you want to go look at it again after a hurricane," he says, " it's a mixture of anticipation and a bit of worry." Rouja works with local dive shops to monitor sites and report new finds, meaning certified divers visiting during hurricane season – roughly June to November – may be the first to glimpse artefacts not seen for centuries. He says that anything from an old shoe or a can of anchovies could help his team identify a shipwreck. Recently, he recalls, "We had some accountant who liked to go lobster diving who just bumped into a shipwreck on the inner reef." It turned out to be the Justice, a ship sunk in 1950. You don't even need to dive However, discoveries don't always require a tank. In North Carolina, many recent discoveries have been found buried under beach dunes. Wrecks either crashed there centuries ago and were buried by shifting sand or have washed up after storms. "Folks will absolutely be walking their dog down the beach and see a ship frame sticking out of the dune after storms," says Stephen Atkinson, a shipwreck and archeology expert with North Carolina's Underwater Archaeology department. That was the case with the Corolla Wreck, discovered in the northern Outer Banks by a local who noticed exposed pieces of a hull after a huge wind event. Gold coins found nearby date to the early 1600, suggesting that it could be state's oldest known shipwreck. Before that, the record was held by the infamous Queen Anne's Revenge, captained by Blackbeard himself, sunk in 1718 and discovered in 1996. Beachcombers are asked to document and report their findings to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Their names stay attached to the finds and they can be as involved as they want in the ensuing research and historical process. "We had a man named Scott Smith who reported a wreck," says Atkinson. "So, I wrote in my database, 'the Scott Smith wreck'." He receives reports at least weekly from people who think they've found something – and he is always open to more. "I love when people send me photos," he says, noting that public reports, even if minor, help track the impacts of wrecks over time. "They're extremely beneficial to us." He describes beachcombing after storms as "one of the bigger tourist draws" around areas like the Outer Banks, and that's not by accident. The state has a "Citizen Archaeologist" programme for reporting any finds, wrecks or otherwise, and will soon join Florida's Shipwreck Tagging National Archaeological Program in which beachgoers can scan a QR code on timber and other pieces of wreck to help track their movements after weather events. In South Carolina, treasure hunters look forward to storms too. The state loses an average of 6-8ft of shoreline per year, and storms speed up that process – leading to casual beachcombers stumbling across rare finds. "Storms can strip away sand to reveal long-hidden fossils," says Katie Lyons of Charleston Fossil Adventures, a South Carolina company that runs fossil beachcombing tours. After a recent hurricane, the team at Charleston Fossil Adventures found a monk seal arm bone dating to the Ice Age – now in a local museum – and they often find dozens of fossils in a single day after big storms. The excitement of the hunt leads to plenty of opening-day bookings around the season's start in mid-March, driven by anxious collectors. "A lot of the diehard collectors are eager to get out to the secluded sites to see what the storm has washed up," Lyons says. She recommends searching in piles of shells and rocks on the beach. "Since the ocean is sorting material by size, you're going to find more in patches of thicker gravel than you will on flat, barren stretches of sand." The thrill of treasure hunting Bermuda's most famous underwater treasure hunter is the late Teddy Tucker, who discovered the emerald-crusted Tucker Cross on a 16th-Century Spanish wreck in 1950. It was famously stolen around 1975, moments before it was supposed to be shown to Queen Elizabeth, and has been lost ever since. "That brought treasure hunting to a new generation," says Rouja. As divers learned that provenance increased a find's value, many became hobbyist researchers and historians, ushering in the era of marine archaeology. "It's more fun for people to be part of the public story of finding something than to just go home and have it sit on their shelf," he adds. More like this:• Scuba diving in the South Pacific's most inexplicable feeding frenzy• How underwater and deep-sea tourism became so popular• The 'sea gypsies' who live with whale sharks Divers can maximise their chances by avoiding popular sites. Rouja suggests exploring a few hundred metres from wreck rather than immediately outside it. The majority of Bermuda's wrecks lie above 80ft and Rouja estimates there are "many, many more" waiting to be found across the rest of the islands' "largely unexplored" reefs. As storms intensify due to climate change, experts expect more wrecks will surface – and there will be more opportunities for travellers to play a role in rewriting maritime history. New tech like drones and underwater mapping programmes are making discoveries more accessible. And past high-profile finds, like five bottles of wine from the 1864 Marie Celeste wreck, continue to fuel public fascination with underwater treasure hunting. Rouja's white whale is the 100lb bronze rooster that served as the masthead of the Cristobal Colon, lost by Tucker in an early salvage expedition. Keep your eyes peeled," he says. "If someone found that, that would be so cool." -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Underwater archaeologist James Delgado reveals the stories behind history's most haunting shipwrecks
Renowned underwater archaeologist James Delgado appeared on "CBS Mornings" on Friday to discuss his new book, "The Great Museum of the Sea," and reflect on more than 50 years of searching for historic shipwrecks around the world. Delgado, who has investigated more than 100 shipwrecks globally, gained international attention in 2019 when he discovered the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. The discovery was later featured in a "60 Minutes" segment with Anderson Cooper. The archaeologist's fascination with shipwrecks began in childhood while growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, where he learned about ships from the 1849 Gold Rush. He said locating shipwrecks requires extensive preparation. "It takes a team. And that team includes oceanographers, people that understand currents. We're also looking at old records and charts. You're also trying to understand the forensics of it," he said. The process involves analyzing factors like ship speed and sailing patterns. Once located, the wrecks often don't match popular expectations. "We have great images that people think of as shipwrecks, but there are a pile of rockets and timber and anchor, and then you go, all right, what exactly am I looking at here," he said. In his book, Delgado describes the sea as "the largest museum on Earth" and argues that every shipwreck has a story to tell. "I think the most important thing for people to remember about shipwrecks is that it's okay for them to have different meanings," Delgado said. "Some people like them because they inspire you with the stories of bravery. Others are tragic and sad. For some, they're the graves of family. But for others, they're a great opportunity to dive and to explore." The archaeologist has also explored the Titanic, describing the experience as overwhelming despite the ship's fame. "Nothing prepares you for seeing 'Titanic,'" he said. After a 2.5-hour descent in a Russian submersible, with pressure so intense that "a regular styrofoam coffee cup gets squeezed down" when strapped to the outside, Delgado said the anticipation suddenly disappeared when the ship appeared. "There it was looming out of the darkness," he recalled. "This massive hull rising twice as high as the ceiling here. Still painted but streaked with rust and rusticles that are orange and yellow and red. And then a porthole that's open and another closed." Delgado described one particularly eerie moment: "One of the spookiest moments — because 'Titanic' is a ship of the dead — is when I first looked through the porthole, 2.5 miles down, the lights — I could see a face looking back at me in the porthole. It was my own reflection." He reflected on the ship's enduring power: "This ship sitting on the bottom ruined and deteriorating still is the stage upon which some of the most powerful drama played out that we all know about with the shipwreck. And you're there." "The Great Museum of the Sea" is available wherever books are sold.
ABC News
07-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Heritage honour for ships sunk in Battle of the Coral Sea
It has been more than 80 years since they came to rest 3,000 metres down on the ocean floor, but their pristine markings have been remarkably well preserved. In 1942, American ships the USS Sims, the USS Neosho and the USS Lexington were patrolling the Pacific as part of the Battle of the Coral Sea when on May 7 and 8 they were struck by Japanese torpedoes. The USS Sims, a Destroyer, was escorting the fleet oiler, USS Neosho, when Japanese aircraft landed multiple direct hits, including a suicide dive from one fighter plane. Two bomb strikes exploded in the Sims' engine room, buckling the ship and causing a massive explosion that sank the vessel. The next morning, the aircraft carrier USS Lexington attacked Japanese forces who, minutes later, fired back. The ship suffered two direct torpedo strikes, followed by an explosion from one of the internal fires that ignited petrol vapours. The strikes caused significant damage, but it was American torpedoes that finally sank the vessel to prevent it from being captured by the Japanese. It was a devastating loss, with 635 US servicemen losing their lives and just a few surviving. The wrecks laid undisturbed for 75 years, more than 3 kilometres down in the Coral Sea, about 1,000km east of Far North Queensland. Rediscovered in 2018 by a team led by US billionaire Paul Allen, the shipwrecks and war graves will now have extra protection. The federal government announced on June 1 that they had been added to the National Heritage List. Federal Minister for the Environment Murray Watt said the site was of national significance in Australia's history. "The Second World War was a time of such terrible and unimaginable loss suffered by so many and the Battle of the Coral Sea was central to keeping Australians at home safe," he said. "By including the site on the National Heritage List, we can ensure greater protection for a number of historic shipwrecks, while preserving a significant piece of world history for future generations." Richard Scully, from the University of New England, said heritage protection was crucial because some WWII warships had already disappeared from the Pacific. He said it was important to remember that, as well as having historical value, these were war graves. "Now that we know where these graves are located means we can protect them," Professor Scully said. "We can register them as heritage and we can continue to do justice to the men who fought and died." Professor Scully says the remarkable preservation also gives a vivid insight into the experience of the battle. "The Lexington, an unarmoured warship essentially being attacked from the sky, was burning in the sea before it was scuttled." Professor Scully said it was also important to raise the profile of the conflict in Australia's collective memory. He said the Pacific War was sometimes the poor cousin to the European war, with the war against Hitler holding the imagination more than the Pacific War. "This is Australia's war in so many ways, and I think it is important to remember that." He said the battles in the Coral Sea to defend Australia and New Guinea were remarkable. "This is the first naval battle in history where the opposing warships never saw each other. "It was fought entirely by aircraft flying off aircraft carriers over the horizon, locating the enemy and attacking them."
