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By Matt Deans - The Advocate

A Coffs Harbour photographer has spearheaded an incredible discovery at Anzac Cove.

Mark Spencer’s work with Australia’s leading maritime archaeology team has uncovered a number of new shipwrecks – and one that is very close to home.

Dr Spencer’s great uncle may have carried wounded to a hospital ship that the team uncovered during the first scientific ocean survey of the seabed in Anzac Cove.

“My great uncle on my mother’s side, Hector Markey, was a stretcher bearer in the second half of that Gallipoli campaign,” said Dr Spencer. “It was an amazing feeling to stand exactly where he stood on the shoreline 95 years ago and view the landscape in such a different context.

“Then, when diving off Anzac Cove, we found the deep water barge. It’s very possible my great uncle carried wounded soldiers to this very barge.

“Only then I realised how these relics have the ability to transport one back in time.” The hospital vessel was one of a number of historic shipwrecks, the expedition “Project Beneath Gallipoli” located from the eight-month World War I battle.

“That one wreck in particular really brought home the agony of the conflict,” NSW Government Maritime Archaeologist Tim Smith said.

“Detected 1.3 nautical miles off Anzac Cove in 55 metres of water, the wreck had only been known as an obstacle to local Turkish fishermen.

By Zhang Zhiping - Beijing Review

Since April, Chinese archaeologists have salvaged more than 4,000 relics from Nan'ao 1, a merchant vessel lying on a 27-meter-deep seabed. This is the only sunken ship China has discovered that dates back to the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The salvage of Nan'ao 1 is listed as 2010's "No.1 Project" by China's Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

The excavation of relics in the vessel is to be finished in the first half of 2010, and salvage of the wreck will be finished in the next two years.

China's sea trade exporting silk and porcelain began to flourish in the 7th century, taking south China's Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Ningbo as its starting points.

This marine Silk Road is also called the "porcelain road." Ancient vessels that have sunk dating back to that period of history are seldom seen, let alone a complete vessel for which there are measurement statistics.

The discovery of Nan'ao 1 shows the sea area off Nan'ao Island in Shantou, Guangdong Province, was an important trading area for Chinese and foreign merchant vessels in the Ming Dynasty.

It was one of the major sections of the ancient marine Silk Road at that time and also a transit point for international trade. Nan'ao 1 adds to the substantial amount of evidence related to the prosperous marine Silk Road.

Most of the ware taken from the sunken ship, thousands of porcelain products, are common blue and white porcelain fired in private folk kilns.

The significance of the excavation of Nan'ao 1 is because the vessel itself and the goods in the vessel are cultural relics, and will help considerably in the research of foreign trade of the era and also of history of shipbuilding and navigation during the Ming Dynasty.

By Gary Robbins - Science Quest

Juan Cabrillo made history. But can the late explorer make turnstiles spin for a museum that will evoke his past in a pricey way ?

The days ahead will tell.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is proceeding with plans to build a $5 million replica of San Salvador, the galleon Cabrillo guided to California in 1542 when he became the first European to explore what is today known as San Diego Bay.

The 88-foot wooden ship is meant to help the non-profit corporation to evolve and compete for visitors in one of the country's busiest tourist destinations.

The new San Salvador also will serve as an educational exhibit that will enable the museum to talk about everything from 16th century shipbuilding to cartography.

The museum will dedicate a construction site for the ship this September on public land 1.5 miles from where its main collection of historic vessels are docked on North Harbor Drive. Workers will begin to build the three-masted galleon by the end of the year, says Ray Ashley, the museum's director.

Plans call for the ship, which will occasionally ply local waters, to open as a paid attraction in 2012, when it joins the museum's other ships at the nearby embarcadero.

"It’s our expectation that 200,000 people will get to watch the San Salvador being built during the eighteen months it takes, but who knows, it may be many many more than that," Ashley said.

"But if it really is only that number, it will still serve to double attendance" to the museum.

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From Market Watch

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., pioneers in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, and its associated company, OVH, Inc., have executed agreements to provide project research and shipwreck search and survey services for a project code-named "Shantaram" to client companies of Robert Fraser & Partners LLP.

As part of the agreement, Odyssey furnished an extensive research file related to the "Shantaram" and its sinking.

The company has commenced operations with a research vessel, survey equipment and crew to search a specified area and inspect targets in that area.

The contract provides cash payments totaling approximately U.S. $3.4 Million representing initial cash payments of $1.7 Million to Odyssey and OVH, Inc., and additional payments of approximately $1.5 Million within 30 days and $0.2 Million upon project completion, plus additional payments upon the sale of coins or artifacts from the "Shantaram" project.

After the re-payment of salvage costs and fees, Odyssey and OVH, Inc. will receive 75% of net revenue in aggregate until an additional £ 11.4 Million (approximately U.S. $16.7 Million) has been received and then 50% in aggregate of all further net revenue.

Upon location of the "Shantaram" shipwreck, Odyssey expects to enter into additional agreements for the archaeological excavation of "Shantaram" and for the conservation and documentation of the cargo and artifacts recovered.

Odyssey will also have exclusive rights to market the recovered cargo.

"We are pleased for our clients to add another exciting shipwreck project with Odyssey's outstanding team to our portfolio," said Colin Emson, Chairman of Robert Fraser & Partners.

"We are confident in Odyssey's capabilities and anticipate maintaining a long business relationship with them."

From Kiks Media
 

The 25th anniversary of shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher’s discovery of the sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha is to be commemorated Thursday through Sunday, July 15-18, during Mel Fisher Days on the island the late salvor called home.

Fisher and his crew uncovered a $400 million cache of Atocha treasure and artifacts July 20, 1985, after a 16-year search. The galleon sank approximately 35 miles southwest of Key West during a 1622 hurricane.

Fisher’s son Kim Fisher and grandson Sean Fisher lead the continuing search for Atocha artifacts and treasures remaining on the ocean floor. Each year, Fisher family members and friends present the festival.

Mel Fisher Days activities benefit the not-for-profit Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, operators of a 200 Greene St. museum where objects from the Atocha and other shipwrecks are conserved, studied and displayed.

Museum visitors can view items including gold and silver bars and coins, cannons and smaller weapons, rare navigational instruments, ornate jewelry and even a 77.7-carat emerald.

Festival events are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at the Schooner Wharf Bar, 202 William St. in Key West’s Historic Seaport.

The evening’s highlight is the presentation of the Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award to internationally recognized shipwreck search and salvage expert Captain Carl Fismer.

Fismer worked with Fisher on the recovery of the 1622 Spanish galleon Santa Margarita, which sank with the Atocha in Key West waters.

Other attractions at the Schooner Wharf kickoff include the “Miss Atocha” bikini contest, with contestants encouraged to make and wear their own treasure-themed bikinis.

The competitor who raises the most money for the museum wins an authentic silver coin from the Atocha site, valued at $1,800. Second- and third-place entrants receive rough emeralds.

By Tim Goff - wcsh6

The crew of a Maine based ocean surveying and salvage company is testing out a new submarine they have built to explore the depths of the ocean.

Sub Sea Research has made a claim on a shipwreck found 50 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.

The only problem is the ship, the Port Nicholson, lies nearly 700 feet below the ocean's surface. Manager Greg Brooks says the ship was a cargo vessel sunk by a German U-boat during World War II that was loaded with platinum, industrial grade diamonds and possibly gold. He estimates the value of the cargo in the ship at $3 to $5 billion.

"We have found a lot of shipwrecks," said Brooks. "We have recovered some things. We have made some money here and there, nothing like we are talking about out here."

To assist in their salvage operation, the crew bought a submarine and have spent the past two months customizing it and preparing it for the deep water mission.

"Of course we have never put a submarine together, so it was quite a chore," admitted Brooks. "We have got it together now and she is just about ready to go out to the site."

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From Fox10 TV

One of the guns of the Confederate raider, CSS ALABAMA has been delivered to The Museum of Mobile.

The cannon will be a welcome addition to recovered artifacts the Museum of Mobile already has on loan from the US Navy.

It will become the centerpiece in the 700 square foot exhibit gallery funded by the Mobile Museum Board that will open later this summer.

The gun is one of eight guns that were originally on the deck of the CSS ALABAMA.

The CSS ALABAMA sank in about 200 feet of water off Cherbourg, France, after an engagement with the Union's USS Kearsage on June 19, 1864.

The gun is approximately 10 feet long and weighs 5000 pounds (2 1/2 tons).

“Now that the gun is in place in our new gallery, we’re all looking forward to sharing it with our visitors.

I think anyone who’s interested in Confederate Naval history and Admiral Semmes will enjoy seeing this exhibit,” stated David Alsobrook, director.

“The Museum of Mobile is very pleased that one of the deck guns raised from the CSS ALABAMA will be included in our permanent exhibits gallery.

Since Admiral Raphael Semmes’s postwar residence and his gravesite are in Mobile, I think our Museum is a logical home for this artifact. Many people have helped bring this project to fruition.

I want to thank attorney Robert Edington for his extraordinary efforts in leading this acquisition project from the very beginning to its final stages. I think it’s safe to say that the Museum of Mobile wouldn’t have obtained this artifact without the gifted leadership of Mr. Edington.

We also deeply appreciate the technical expertise of Dr. Paul Mardikian and the Hunley conservators in Charleston, SC, and the collegial assistance of Dr. Robert Neyland of the US Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, DC.

I also wish to point out that the Museum of Mobile’s Board, under the leadership of our chair, Tony Kendall, underwrote the cost for the renovation of our new exhibits gallery which will include the gun and for other expenses associated with the shipment of the gun, along with strong support from the Friends of the Museum of Mobile and CSS Alabama Association; under the leadership of president Phillip Nassar.

We are all looking forward to the gun being in place and the fabrication of this new exhibits gallery, which will occur in the coming weeks.

We have not established a date for the opening of the new exhibits gallery, and that announcement will be forthcoming.

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From BBC News

An archaeologist has called for the wreck of the HMS Victory to be brought to the surface to avoid further damage.

Dr Sean Kingsley is an archaeological consultant for Odyssey Marine Exploration, who found the shipwreck in the English Channel in April 2008.

He said the site would continue to suffer damage from bottom fishing and could not be protected by exclusion zones as it is too far from land.

The site's future is the subject of a public consultation ending on 30 June.

The consultation, being held by the UK government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Ministry of Defence, puts forward three options; manage the site with no excavation, limited excavation and management of the site and full excavation with the artefacts being used to educate and celebrate Britain's heritage.

Dr Kingsley said: "Sometimes you can leave ships in shallow waters, you can protect them, you can create exclusion zones, people can dive on them and the money from that can contribute to local economies. When you're out of the sight of land, 100m down it's just not an option.

"It seems to us the most responsible and sustainable option it is take that ship out of harm's way, put it on shore for education and promoting heritage so that everyone can enjoy it."

More than 1,000 sailors drowned when the British flagship, the predecessor to Lord Nelson's Victory, sank in a storm in 1744.

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