All articles tagged with #shipwreck
U.S. divers uncovered the wreck of the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, torpedoed by German submarine UB-91 in 1918 off Cornwall, killing 131 crew; the discovery by the Gasperados dive team after a three-year search provides a confirmed final resting place and prompts further underwater research.
Divers have located the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, sunk in 1918 after a German torpedo off the Wales coast, marking the United States’ largest naval loss in World War I. Found by the Gasperados Dive Team at about 300 feet off Cornwall, the site holds 131 crew (111 Coast Guardsmen, 4 U.S. Navy sailors, 16 Britons; 11 of the deceased were Black). The Coast Guard confirmed the find and said it will mount further autonomous exploration to honor those who died.
Divers from the Octopus Foundation recovered over 1,000 well-preserved Roman-era artefacts, including ceramics, two gladiator swords, a dagger, a belt buckle, a fibula and a wicker basket, from a sunken cargo ship in Lake Neuchâtel dating to 20–50 AD. The cargo likely carried kitchen supplies for a Roman camp and was escorted by legionaries; one crate is dated to 17 AD. The wreck hasn’t been located yet and the discovery was kept secret to deter looting. Artefacts are being cleaned and restored, with a 2027 book and documentary planned and an exhibition at Laténium in Neuchâtel. The team notes there may be more historical artefacts in the oceans than in museums.
Divers exploring the Mentor wreck off Kythira recovered a small decorative marble fragment with a water-drop motif that could be from the Parthenon, potentially tying the 1802 Elgin-era transport to the Elgin marbles controversy; the fragment measures 3.6 by 1.85 inches, most cargo has already been raised, and officials will conduct further conservation and research to identify its origin.
Divers exploring the Mentor, the Lord Elgin–owned brig that sank in 1802 while transporting Parthenon Marbles, recovered a marble fragment from the Acropolis. The fragment’s exact origin (Parthenon or another Acropolis feature) remains uncertain, adding fuel to Greece’s long-running dispute over the Elgin Marbles. Excavations have also yielded ship remains and 19th‑century artifacts; conservation and analysis are ongoing.
A U.S. deep-sea treasure hunter, Tommy Thompson, who recovered treasure from the 1857 SS Central America wreck, was released from prison after about a decade for contempt for refusing to disclose the location of roughly 500 missing gold coins; investors had sued him over proceeds, and while the civil contempt sentence was ended last year, about 500 coins remain unaccounted for.
An Ohio treasure hunter who recovered gold from the 1857 SS Central America wreck was released from prison after years for refusing to disclose the gold’s location to investors and authorities. Investors claim he sold about $50 million of gold without paying them; Thompson contends the remaining gold was placed in a Belize trust and that the proceeds funded legal fees and loans. He faced sizable fines in addition to imprisonment.
Two beers recovered from a 170-year-old shipwreck off the Åland Islands were chemically analyzed. One resembled a light lager, the other a hoppier ale; both had low alcohol content (~2.8–3.2%), high sodium from seawater, and acidic pH. Despite long underwater exposure and oxidation of sulfur compounds, enough original ingredients remained to infer how 19th-century brewers produced beer, suggesting a simpler, less refined brewing process. One bottle cracked during recovery, but divers reportedly tasted beer inside.
Low Baltic Sea levels reveal a 17th-century Swedish Navy shipwreck off Kastellholmen in Stockholm, buried for about 400 years; researchers believe it was sunk around 1640 to serve as a bridge foundation, with the Lost Navy program aiming to identify and date the vessel.
The 217-foot luxury steamer Lac La Belle, which sank in a 1872 Lake Michigan gale off the Wisconsin coast, was found in October 2022 after a nearly six-decade search led by Paul Ehorn and Shipwreck World. The wreck, now mussel-covered with an intact hull and oak interiors, lie about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha; eight people died when lifeboats capsized or failed, and the discovery highlights ongoing exploration of thousands of Great Lakes wrecks.
After nearly six decades of searching, Paul Ehorn and Shipwreck World located Lac La Belle, the 1872 passenger steamer sunk in Lake Michigan, about 20 miles off Racine and Kenosha. The discovery, made in October 2022 and announced after a 3D video model was prepared, shows a hull largely intact though encrusted with mussels, and recalls eight deaths when lifeboats capsized during the sinking. This is Ehorn’s 15th shipwreck discovery, and he plans to present findings at the 2026 Ghost Ships Festival.
Searchers led by Paul Ehorn of Shipwreck World located the 217-foot luxury steamer Lac La Belle off Wisconsin, completing a roughly six-decade quest. Built in 1864, it sank in October 1872 after a gale while sailing from Milwaukee to Grand Haven; the wreck lies about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, remains largely intact with the hull preserved and the exterior mussel-covered. Discovered in 2022 and announced in 2026 with a 3D model, it marks Ehorn’s 15th shipwreck find as investigators press on for the next discovery.
A shipwreck hunter has located the remains of a 19th-century steamship in Lake Michigan, adding a new chapter to Great Lakes maritime history; the AP piece references a historic 1866 photo of the Lac La Belle docked in Marquette for context.
The UN migration agency (IOM) says 53 people are dead or missing after a migrant boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Zuwara; only two survivors were rescued. Survivor accounts say one woman lost her husband and another lost her two babies. The boat had departed Al-Zawiya around 11:00 p.m. on Feb. 5 and capsized about six hours later. IOM warns trafficking networks exploit dangerous crossings and urges safer migration pathways to save lives, noting high death/missing tallies in the Central Mediterranean in January and 2025.
A rubber dinghy carrying about 55 migrants from several African countries capsized off north‑west Libya, killing 53 people including two babies; two Nigerian women survived and were rescued. The vessel sank about six hours after leaving al‑Zawiya, north of Zuwara, underscoring the ongoing perils of Mediterranean crossings, with around 500 migrants reported dead or missing in 2026 so far. The IOM highlights trafficking networks and unsafe vessels and calls for stronger international cooperation and safe migration pathways to prevent more tragedies.