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By Manta Klangboonkrong - The Nation

There's a cargo barge that a storm sent to the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand more than a century ago - and only recently has advanced scuba equipment allowed its secrets to be revealed.

Fishermen found the iron steamboat Ruea Mail last year, 90 minutes by boat off Rayong's Klaeng district.

Only about 10 divers have visited the completely intact vessel since then.

The government's Underwater Archaeology Division has the daunting task of protecting and preserving dozens of shipwrecks believed to have sunk en route to Vietnam, laden with coins and other metal ware.

A handful of these are being retrieved - everything else will be preserved in situ.

That noble ambition isn't easily realized. The Underwater Archaeology Division of the government's Fine Arts Department is striving to protect 64 wreck sites and others being regularly reported. 

Barring illegal treasure hunters is the biggest part of the challenge, but the artifacts have also to be protected from the ravages of time and unwitting human damage.

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By Lishan Chang - Taiwan Today

Readers might be surprised to learn that Taiwan has underwater archaeological treasures to rival the remains of the “Titanic,” wrecks of Spanish treasure galleons in the Caribbean and even the lost city of Atlantis, said by Plato to have sunk into the ocean “in a single day and night of misfortune.” 

The place to go to find out about these treasures is “Diving into History,” the island’s first-ever underwater archaeology exhibition, put together by the Executive Yuan’s Council for Cultural Affairs, now at Bali Township’s Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology in Taipei County until Dec. 13.

As defined by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, underwater archaeology studies sites, artifacts and human remains which have been submerged in the ocean, lakes or rivers for at least 100 years.

UNESCO regards “archaeological sites located under water as important sources of historic information” because these locations, “due to the lack of oxygen, contain material that is lost on comparable sites on dry land.”

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By Timothy O'Hara - Keys News

The remains of hundreds of shipwrecks line the Florida Keys reef tract. Their stories are the history of the Keys.

Some wrecks have been identified, but many have not. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and state archaeologist have spent thousands of dollars investigating the wrecks to determine their origin.

The remains have become living museums the sanctuary chooses to leave in the waters so divers can enjoy them in their natural state, as opposed to removing them and putting them in a facility on land.

The sanctuary has established a Shipwreck Trail, running from Key West to Key Largo, to showcase the wrecks and educate people on their history and importance.

Sanctuary officials are reminding divers not to take or move anchors, ballast stones and small trinkets found along the reef, as they could be the clues that lead to a wreck being identified.

The reminder comes after sanctuary divers discovered nine Crown patent fuel blocks, a mixture of coals that have been molded into briquettes, stacked on top of each other on a sand patch on Horseshoe Reef off Key Largo in August.

Two researchers, who routinely work underwater in that area, observed the newly formed piles of blocks, sanctuary spokeswoman Karrie Carnes said.

Sanctuary officials fear someone was trying to take them as souvenirs.

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By Eric Gaertner - Muskegon Chronicle

The life of a valiant U.S. Coast Guard member and the sailing career of a 320-foot whale-back steamer came to a tragic end 75 years ago, leaving an unforgettable mark on Muskegon’s maritime history.

On Nov. 30, 1934, the Henry Cort and her 25-man crew were tossed by large waves onto the north arm of the break wall at the Muskegon harbor and U.S. Coast Guard Surfman Jack Dipert was swept off into Lake Michigan during a rescue attempt.

By the end of the drama-filled incident, Dipert became the only Coast Guard member from the Muskegon station to die in the line of duty and a thrilling rescue eventually saved the lives of the Cort’s 25 crewmen.

In addition, the tens of thousands of people who flocked to the area shoreline likely never will forget the sight of a large freighter listing at a 45-degree angle on the break wall.

A two-part commemorative program is planned for Monday in Muskegon to recognize the 75th anniversary of the maritime incident.

The public is encouraged to attend a 3:30 p.m. memorial near the current Muskegon Coast Guard facility along the southern break wall and a 6:30 p.m. program at the Lakeshore Museum Center recounting the incident and unveiling underwater footage of the wreck site.

From Dominican Today

The expedition headed by the renown treasure hunter Burt Webber to recover artifacts from the sunken Spanish ship "Solo Dios Gloria" has after almost one month begun to coax fine gold baubles and detailed silver items off the Atlantic Ocean floor, as the Hispaniola Venture salvage boat struggles to remain anchored in the season swells.

He said the name of the sunken ship was determined from its bronze bell dated 1694, which he previously recovered, and noted that his joint venture partner in the salvage operation is Marine Explorations, Inc.

In the emailed statement, Webber details the latest find of artifacts recovered from the bottom of a not-always calm ocean just north of the Dominican Republic, whose swells, “come rolling continuously over the site.”

“Hello Jorge........Writing to tell you that I appreciate the follow up story you did on our activities along with correcting the inaccuracies.

As I write this E-mail, we're anchored over the wreck site of the "Solo Dios Gloria" off of Laguna Grande where we have now put in 26 days of intensive survey and excavation.

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By Randy Shore - Vancouver Sun

A B.C.-led team of archaeologists has discovered the wreck of a Klondike Gold Rush steamer perfectly preserved in the icy waters of Lake Laberge, north of Whitehorse.

The vessel A.J. Goddard sank in a winter storm 108 years ago, leaving behind a snapshot of life during the frenzy of prospecting and mining that engorged the Yukon Territory and enriched the ports of Vancouver and Victoria during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The detritus littering the deck of the vessel tells a harrowing tale of shipwreck and death, said Vancouver marine archaeologist James Delgado, president of the Institute of Nautical Archeology.

"The boiler door is open and the firewood they tossed in to get try to get up enough steam to get out of trouble is still in there with charring on it," Delgado said.

"Somebody shrugged off their coat and kicked off their shoes as they tried to swim for it and that's still lying on the deck."

Three men - Captain Charles McDonald, cook Fay Ransome, and fireman John Thompson - perished in the wreck, later buried by the North-West Mounted Police after their bodies washed ashore.

From News

The search for a torpedoed World War II hospital ship in Queensland waters will start next month. 

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Premier Anna Bligh today said the hunt for the Centaur was expected to start in mid-December. A Japanese submarine torpedoed the hospital ship off south-east Queensland in May 1943, killing 268 people.

Premier Anna Bligh said a Defense Maritime Services vessel, the Seahorse Spirit, would play a critical role in the search.
She said deep-sea side-scan sonar equipment and a remotely operated submersible vessel capable of being operated at depths of up to 6000m were among the specialized equipment sourced from two US based firms.

"This is highly specialized equipment operated by only a handful of companies worldwide, with the majority based in the USA," Ms Bligh said.

"As the search is expected to be very challenging, with initial indications that the sub-sea terrain in the search area is steep and rugged, we need the best equipment and best people available to help us achieve success on this mission."

From Bangkok Post

About 18 meters below the sea off Rayong province, 15 divers from seven countries are exploring a wooden shipwreck.

The exploration is part of Unesco's six-week training on underwater cultural heritage preservation.

The divers are from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

They have been picked for an underwater heritage protection programme organised by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and the Fine Arts Department's Underwater Archaeology Division (UAD) which runs from Oct 26 to Dec 6.

Division head Erbprem Vatcharangkul said Thailand has 64 underwater archaeological sites. He said all of them, especially those in shallow water, were under threat from treasure hunters.

Protection of the sites required well-trained staff and cooperation from local people, including fishermen.

Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region face similar problems which prompted Unesco to set up the regional field training center to promote underwater heritage protection in the region and to exchange conservation information.

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