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Tag: Shipwreck

  • 1888 Shipwreck Found in San Francisco Bay

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released images Wednesday of the wreckage of a ship that sank in San Francisco Bay in 1888, which killed 16 people. The iron and wood steamship called City of Chester went down on August 22, after being hit by a larger ship named the Oceanic, in conditions of dense fog and low visibility.

    City of Chester was carrying 106 travelers en route to Eureka, California and Portland, Oregon. Thirteen passengers and three crewmen perished when the ship sank.

    The NOAA inadvertently discovered the wreckage while mapping shipping lanes in the bay, and City of Chester was located 217 feet down, just inside the Golden Gate Bridge. The NOAA team utilized a multi-beam sonic imaging system to capture three-dimensional images of the wreckage.

    James Delgado, an NOAA shipwreck researcher, archaeologist and Titanic expert, combed through San Francisco newspapers from the era when City of Chester went down, which leaned toward putting the blame on the relatively unscathed Oceanic, which was an immigrant vessel. “The papers initially reacted, talking about the tragedy and accusations that the Chinese crew stood by and let people drown,” Delgado said. “But what happens is you start to see things also come out countering that. Some leapt in water to save a drowning child.” The initial investigation faulted the skipper of the City of Chester.

    Robert Schwemmer, NOAA’s West Coast regional maritime heritage coordinator added, “The Oceanic crew was up on the bow reaching down to survivors on the Chester, lifting them on the deck. After the collision, in five or six minutes, the Oceanic crew went on to save a lot of people.”

    In 1888, San Francisco Bay was one of the world’s busiest and most crucial shipping ports. The City of Chester sinking was the second worst maritime disaster regarding casualties San Francisco Bay had ever seen. The most catastrophic occurred when a steamer called the SS City of Rio de Janeiro hit a reef in 1901, killing over 120.

    Image via NOAA

  • Five Cannons Recovered From Blackbeard’s Ship

    In 1718, the legendary pirate Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, sank the Queen Anne’s Revenge off the coast of Beaufort, NC after the flagship accidentally ran aground in the shallows. For nearly 300 years, the ship rested and rusted, until 1996 saw the beginnings of an archaeological excavation to recover the vessel and its contents.

    In 1997 when the team began their excavations, they had eliminated virtually every other sunken ship from the era on the basis of the cannons; in historical reports, no other ship carried as many cannons of the size they observed as Blackbeard’s.

    As the years went by and the excavations slowly continued, 2011 saw another big discovery from the wreck: a series of improvised missiles and weaponry designed to inflict terror rather than damage. At that time, dives had yielded bags of grape shot, chained cannonballs used to disable rigging, and improvised anti-personnel charges.

    The latest update from the site, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard, has the archaeological team recovering the largest collection of artifacts yet from the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

    To date, Popular Archaeology reports that the team has recovered 29 of the ship’s 40 guns, and over a quarter of a million artifacts, including but hardly limited to: a bronze bell; an English blunderbuss barrel; a lead cannon apron; 2 huge anchors, and 2 cannonballs.


    [The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources]

    The additional discovery of 20 cannons, medical instruments, gold grains, glass wine bottles, and pieces of ceramic led researchers to succinctly conclude they were dealing with the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge.


    [The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources]

    Project director Billy Ray Morris speculated about the origins of the cannons in a press release. “We think the largest of the four cannons may be of Swedish origin since the only other recovered gun this size was made in Sweden,” he said, “We also hope to recover two large concretions each the size of a twin bed. They may contain barrel hoops, cannon balls and other treasures.”


    [The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources]

    Four cast-iron guns recovered on Oct. 28 weighed 2,000 pounds, and a fifth weighed 3,000. The team expects to recover the rest of the wreck by 2014. Be sure to check out the pictures featured in the online Blackbeard/Queen Anne’s Revenge museum!

    [Main Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • Costa Concordia: Remains Found As Italy Mourns Another Tragedy

    The last two missing victims from the Costa Concordia wreck are believed to have been found after 20 months at sea, and authorities are awaiting DNA testing to confirm their identities.

    The cruise liner sank last January off the Italian island of Giglio, killing 32 people after it struck a reef. Francesco Schettino, the ship’s captain, has been charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship after he allegedly caused the shipwreck. However, he says he wants a full investigation into what caused the ship to sink, believing there may be technical factors at play.

    Tragically, another shipwreck occurred in Italy today after a boat carrying African migrants to Europe caught fire and capsized; so far, 159 people have been rescued, but the death toll stands at 94 and is expected to go much higher because many of those on the ship couldn’t swim, including children.

    “We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances,” said Pietro Bartolo, chief of health services on the island of Lampedusa.

    Italy’s interior minister, Angelino Alfano, said that the fire was actually set by passengers as a way to flag down another ship when their boat began taking on water. However, they didn’t realize that gasoline was also leaking due to a malfunctioning motor, and the fire quickly spread. Panicked, most passengers fled to the side of the ship that was free of flames, which tipped the entire vessel over.

    “It’s an immense tragedy,” said Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Raising Shipwreck; Costa Concordia Rises

    Raising Shipwreck; Costa Concordia Rises

    The painful reminders from the horrific incident when the cruise liner Costa Concordia sank still haunt people in Giglio, Italy. That fateful night last January resulted in maritime tragedy where thirty people died, sixty-four people were injured, and two people still remain missing from the voyage. On that night, Captain Francesco Schettino moved closer to the island of Giglio in order to allow passengers to have a closer view of the island; however, in doing so the cruise liner collided with the rocky reef and the ship was unable to sustain the damage.

    Efforts are underway to lift the vessel, which began around 9 a.m. on September 16, 2013. Though original plans called for the process to begin at 6 a.m. there were overnight storms that delayed the process. The event still traumatizes local residents of the island, but will rising the ship stop the nightmares?

    According to local resident Matteo Bellomo who has maintained a second home on the island of Giglio for fifty years, the event still serves as a source of pain. “To wake up every morning and to see this thing, from my point of view, it is terrible. Every time you look at it, you think to the people there, and people that died, and to the two people they have not found,” Bellomo said.

    Captain Francesco Schettino has recently been released from house arrest where he faces multiple charges of manslaughter as well as charges for abandoning the ship and causing the wreck. He shared his opinion of the accident in his first TV interview.

    “This was a banal accident in which, fate would have it, there was a breakdown in communication between people. And this created misunderstandings and anger. It was as if there had been a breakdown in people’s heads as well as in the instruments,” Francesco Schettino said.

    Sergio Ortelli, the mayor of Giglio, is not convinced by Schettino’s assertion of miscommunication being the main cause behind the wreck. “A captain cannot shift blame onto his officers,and a ship with more than 4,000 people on board cannot be put under the command of such an amateur,” Sergio Ortelli said.

    The husband of Maria Grazia, who is one of the two passengers who still remains missing, articulates his concern and blame behind the event as being something other than mechanical or communication failure.

    Elio Vincenzi, Maria Grazia’s husband said, “It was not the sea that took my wife away. It was human stupidity.”

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons and Courtesy of Jean-Philippe Boulet]

  • Raising Shipwreck Concordia: See How it’s Done

    By now, just about everyone with Internet access has heard of the Costa Concordia, the Italian cruise ship that wrecked, claiming the lives of at least 30 people, back in 2012. Right now, efforts are underway off the coast of Giglio, Italy to raise the Concordia, which is quite a job, as the vessel weighs more than 100,000 tons.

    A group of engineers worked for months to devise a plan to roll the cruise ship upright so it can be moved onto platforms for removal. Crews began working on rolling the Concordia on Monday. After being set back briefly because of thunderstorms early on Monday, the operation resumed and is expected to finished sometime Tuesday. Rescuers hoped to find the bodies of two people who were unaccounted for after the shipwreck, but haven’t had any luck so far.

    The salvage master in charge of the raising the shipwrecked Concordia, Nick Sloane, says that raising the ship upright is called “parbuckling.” Sloane says the word is “an old nautical term…in those days, they could use the leverage of the mast and the sail booms to assist” in raising a ship. It’s difficult to comprehend how it’s possible to raise such a massive vessel, especially after it has been sitting on its side in water for the past 20 months. See a video of the game plan for raising the shipwrecked Concordia below.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P-yhRaf_AA

    If you’re interested in watching the operation, The Guardian has a live video stream of the event—UPDATE: the shipwreck Concordia has been raised, see a time-lapse of the raising of the ship here. For folks unable to watch video, a timeline of raising Concordia is also available, which is updated regularly.

    While many Italians are happy that the unsightly ship will be removed from their coast, some people are raising their eyebrows at the cost of the operation, which could exceed $1 billion. That hefty price tag is reportedly more than what it cost to build the ship.

    Image via YouTube

  • Man Rescues His Terrier From Drowning

    Best friends are faithful, fun, and always have each other’s backs to defend one another until the very end. This applies whether the best friend is a human or a dog as was recently put to the test. Graham and Sheryl Anley took their Jack Russell terrier, Rosie, on a three month long oceanic voyage to Madagascar as originally reported by News24. What they did not anticipate was hitting the reef; however, on August 4th that is exactly what happened. Unfortunately, their yacht was unable to handle the impact and began to sink. Luckily, Graham has been a volunteer for the National Sea Rescue Institute based in South Africa. His expertise in such situations allowed the safe rescue for all three members of the journey.

    Rosie, decked out in a life vest specifically tailored for dogs, was selected as the first to be rescued and taken to land, a benefit of being man’s best friend. As a nine-year-old terrier she was small and frail in comparison to the large brutality of the ocean, but fortunately had a best friend capable of ensuring her safety.

    Sheryl was unable to swim with Graham and Rosie during the first rescue attempt as her safety line had become entangled in the steering wheel. This story has a happy ending for all involved partly because Graham was knowledgeable in how to handle such situations, but also, in part, since prior safety precautions were taken where all living parties had life vests. Graham had radioed for help, which notified rescuers of their yacht’s location before Graham even had time to return and bring Sheryl back to land. Whether Sheryl encouraged Graham to rescue Rosie first is not clear, but It is clear that all three are very fortunate and that the bond of being “man’s best friend” is an unbreakable one.

  • 61 Tons of Silver Recovered from Shipwreck

    U.S.-based underwater salvage and exploration company Odyssey Marine Exploration announced Monday that it pulled more than 61 tons of silver bullion worth about $36 million from a World War II British cargo ship.

    The torpedoed ship rested about three miles below the ocean surface, making the haul the deepest and largest precious metal recovery from a shipwreck, according to Odyssey. The 412-foot SS Gairsoppa sunk in 1941 about 300 miles off the coast of Ireland after it was attacked by a German U-boat.

    The wreck included 1,574 silver ingots that weighed about 1,100 ounces each. The 1.8 million ounces of silver are being stored in a secure facility the U.K. Including silver recovered in a 2012 expedition, Odyssey as pulled 2,792 ingots from the ship. That represents more than 99 percent of the silver that was recorded on the ship when it sank.

    The company’s contract with the UK Department for Transport allows Odyssey to retain 80% of the net value of the cargo, according to Odyssey. The contract was awarded to Odyssey following a competitive tender process.

    The company recovered the silver using remote vehicles. Odyssey said. It was a complicated recovery because some of the silver was stored in a small compartment that was difficult to get to. The remote vehicle took more three and a half hours to reach the ship. Reported Discovery News.

    “The ability of our team to deliver on our planned objectives underscores our experience and the tremendous determination of our team. We have accomplished a world-record recovery at a depth never achieved before. We’re continuing to apply our unique expertise to pioneer deep-ocean projects that result in the discovery and recovery of lost cultural heritage, valuable cargoes and important and needed natural resources,” Mark Gordon, Odyssey’s president and chief operating officer said in a release.

    Photo courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., www.odysseymarine.com

  • SS Gairsoppa: Shipwreck Gives Up Its Treasure

    In December 1940, the SS Gairsoppa raised anchor in India and left, fully-loaded with 240 tons of tea, silver, and iron for Liverpool, England. After breaking away from its convoy due to bad weather off the Irish coast, a German U-Boat sank the Gairsoppa with one torpedo on February 17, 1941. The Telegraph reported that one survivor made it out.

    The Gairsoppa rested 2.9 miles below the surface for over 70 years when, in 2011, the Odyssey Marine Exploration company discovered the wreck while searching on a contract that nets them a sweet 80% of the discovered treasure (the remaining 20% will go to the British government).

    The silver rests underneath the Atlantic

    Since then, Odyssey has been diligently working to extract the archaeological find from the Atlantic seabed, in spite of problems relating to the structure and size of the ship. On Monday, the company reported they had successfully recovered $35 million in silver when they pulled 61 tons of bullion out of the wreck.

    Mark Gordon, Odyssey’s president and chief operating officer said of his people, “The ability of our team to deliver on our planned objectives underscores our experience and the tremendous determination of our team. We have accomplished a world-record recovery at a depth never achieved before. We’re continuing to apply our unique expertise to pioneer deep-ocean projects that result in the discovery and recovery of lost cultural heritage, valuable cargoes and important and needed natural resources.”

    If, like me, you wonder just exactly what 61 tons of silver looks like, it looks like one of these:
    a Silver Bar recovered from the SS Gairsoppa

    … multiplied by 1574. Odyssey reports that their find weighs in at 1.8 million ounces. Combined with previous efforts to retrieve the find from the ship, 2792 silver ingots have been retrieved from the ship using remote vehicles, which Odyssey reports comprised more than 99% of the insured silver that the Gairsoppa was hauling.

    Unfortunately for Odyssey, Reuters reports that they actually lost money due to fluctuating market prices. The going price for silver bullion when they recovered 48 tons last year earned them $38 million, so their larger haul will unfortunately fetch a smaller sum due to falling silver prices.

  • Italian Shipwreck Crew Guilty, Sentenced

    Italian Shipwreck Crew Guilty, Sentenced

    It has been a year and a half since we reported on the tragic shipwreck of the Italian luxury liner Costa Concordia, which sank off the coast of the Isola del Giglio in Italy, a wreck that cost the lives of 32 few and passengers.

    Back then, there was plenty of blame to go around. Most of it ended up heaped on the captain of the vessel, Francesco Schettino. He was disgraced for abandoning the ship, and charged with manslaughter. But in the end five other crew members faced charges, as well.

    BBC News is now reporting that this five have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced. The nature of their plea deals almost guarantees that they will not see jail time.

    “What will the families of the victims think? This is truly disappointing,” said Daniele Bocciolini, a lawyer for the victims. “Schettino remains the only one on trial, but not the only one at fault, in my opinion.”

    The five guilty and now sentenced defendants were Roberto Ferrarini, director of the Italian cruise company’s crisis unit, cabin service director Manrico Giampedroni, first officer Ciro Ambrosio, Indonesian helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin and third officer Silvia Coronica.

    In the wake of the tragedy, rumors abounded about how the wreck had happened. One theory was that the captain had purposely steered his ship close to land so that one crew member, the ship’s head waiter, could wave to family members on shore.

    Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the captain executed a swing-by maneuver near the island of Giglio so the ship’s head waiter could wave to family on shore. It is not known if the waiter asked for the maneuver, or if the captain intended to surprise him. The head waiter’s sister had posted to Facebook shortly before:

    ‘Shortly the “Concordia di Costa Cociere” will be close. A salute to my brother, who will finally disembark for a holiday in Savona.’

    Captain Schettino’s manslaughter trial began this week.

  • Shipwreck: Gold Found Off South Carolina Coast?

    Most of us love a good story about a found treasure; lately, those have mostly been about Goodwill patrons finding valuable paintings buried behind discarded motel-room art. But today there’s a story out of South Carolina that might be about actual treasure, and archaeologists believe they might have some gold on their hands.

    The wreckage of a 19th century steamer ship was discovered on Sunday off the coast of Cape Romain, and Dr. E. Lee Spence says it’s what’s left of the SS Ozama. The ship originally carried guns and is thought to have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold on board.

    The ship is remarkably intact considering what it’s been through; built in 1881, it was first used to tow dredges in the building of the Panama Canal, but wrecked in the Bahamas just a year later.

    “The vessel made a number trips to Panama and other ports in the Caribbean, sailing into turbulent times,” Spence said. “Her colorful history is packed with events such as a mutiny and extensive gun and money smuggling to Haiti.”

    The ship eventually wrecked in 1894 in Cape Romain after striking the shoals on its way to Charleston, where it’s been ever since. Dr. Spence doesn’t yet know what secrets it may hold, as he has to make sure it’s safe to enter first, but whatever he finds will be his.

    “This ship had a long history of smuggling and of carrying large amounts of money, and I became the owner of it last year whenever I laid claim in federal court to this wreck and other wrecks that I found off Cape Romain, South Carolina. But I had no idea when I laid claim to it what it was, and it was just recently that I discovered its identity,” he said.

  • Shipwreck Hunters Find Mystery In The Baltic Sea: Twitter Buzz

    The truth is out there, but it might be at the bottom of the ocean. Recently a group of shipwreck explorers were diving for just that reason, but they stumbled upon something perplexing. Some speculation say it could possibly be a UFO or Unidentified Flying Object. The team, while exploring greater than 80 meters down, came across some startling images. It’s said the object is disc shaped and as big as a 747 airliner.

    http://youtu.be/R_tIgHk2e68

    With news of this possible UFO in the Baltic Sea, Twitter ignited with buzz. People on the social media giant can’t get enough of the story.

    Team Leader Peter Lindberg said:

    “I have been doing this for nearly 20 years so I have a seen a few objects on the bottom, but nothing like this, we had been out for nine days and we were quite tired and we were on our way home, but we made a final run with a sonar fish and suddenly this thing turned up.”

    On the run, the team used a side-scan sonar, with this tool they found a 60 meter in diameter disc shaped object with a tail-like protrusion measuring 400 meters long, then on a second pass they discovered a second object 200 meters away.

    In the professional opinion of Lindberg’s team, they say the objects are too big to have fallen off a ship or to even be part of a wreck, but they say it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s down there.

    Lindberg went on to say:

    “We’ve heard lots of different kinds of explanations, from George Lucas’s spaceship — the Millennium Falcon — to ‘it’s some kind of plug to the inner world,’ like it should be hell down there or something, but we won’t know until we have been down there.”

    Andreas Olsson, Sweden’s Head of Archaeology at Maritime Museums says he is intrigued by the picture, but he remains a skeptic on what it could be. The problem with the picture is the reliability of one-side scanners, It makes it difficult to tell if it’s a natural formation or something un-natural. Lindberg says the picture “isn’t the best it could be”, but the team plans to investigate further into the matter. If the mysery object doesn’t turn out to be something awesome, still adrenaline junkies with money want to pay to get an up-close view via submarine.