HOT NEWS !
Stay informed on the old and most recent significant or spectacular
nautical news and shipwreck discoveries
Avisé a todo el mundo de lo que estaba haciendo Odyssey
Lavoz Digital
Claudio Bonifacio podría ser el protagonista perfecto de una buena novela de aventuras. En él, todo apunta al folletín. Por ejemplo: habla un andaluz mestizo y con acento italiano. Es cordial y ocurrente.
Tiene carisma. Sabe que se le considera el cazatesoros más famoso de España, pero no le gusta la etiqueta.
También intuye que, como a los buenos personajes, le acompaña un poso inevitable de ambigüedad moral, la sombra permanente de la sospecha. Lidia con eso. Es su pequeña tragedia cotidiana.
Ha dedicado su vida a buscar y rescatar galeones hundidos. Para muchos lectores de esa hipotética novela, Claudio será un héroe, un viejo lobo de mar experto en cartas de navegación, diarios perdidos, batallas y naufragios. Otros, a tenor de sus peripecias judiciales, pensarán que es simplemente un crápula.
«No soy un pirata», advierte. «En todo caso, soy un corsario, porque siempre he trabajado dentro de la legalidad, con patente de corso». Ningún juez ha demostrado todavía lo contrario. «Nunca he pretendido llenarme los bolsillos, sino llenar los museos», se justifica. «Y eso no es delito».
En los últimos 30 años, Bonifacio ha trabajado para algunas de las empresas de localización de pecios más importantes del mundo, incluida Odyssey Marine. Ha escrito artículos científicos y tratados de referencia. Ha impartido cursos para especialistas y colaborado con la UNESCO. Ha localizado buques míticos en Portugal y en El Caribe.
Pero también se ha visto relacionado con la Operación Tartesis contra el expolio del patrimonio sumergido («la causa se sobreseyó; aquel jaleo fue sólo una pompa de jabón»), y después en la 'Operación Bahía 2': «Ocurrirá lo mismo. Llevo cinco años esperando una resolución que ratifique lo que ya he gritado a los cuatro vientos: soy inocente».
Ahora, además de continuar con proyectos de sondeos y prospecciones en Latinoamérica («todos conveniados con los gobiernos de la zona»), acaba de embarcarse en un nuevo y complejo viaje: quiere aclarar las cosas, reivindicar su condición de investigador, limpiar su nombre.
Leer más...
Divers in Tonga facing charges for removing treasure from ancient shipwreck
From Radio New Zealand International
A group of divers in Tonga is facing charges after allegedly removing items from a ship which sank more than a 150 years ago.
Our correspondent reports that police have confiscated what are believed to be gold pieces from the Nuku’alofa homes of the divers.
Mateni Tapueluelu says the divers, all Tongans, had allegedly been removing the materials from the ship, which sank in 1853, for quite some time before police became aware of their activity.
“It is yet to be tested officially but these men have been charged and are due to appear in the Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
They have been charged with illegally removing materials that belong to Government from the oceans [around] Tonga.
Shackleton's Antarctic spirits saved
From Irish Times
Three crates of Scotch whisky and two crates of brandy buried under Antarctic ice for more than 100 years have been recovered by a heritage team restoring Irish-born explorer Ernest Shackleton’s hut.
New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team leader Al Fastier says he believes some bottles, abandoned by Shackleton at Cape Royds when he was forced to abort his Nimrod expedition to the South Pole in 1909, are still intact.
The whisky was made by MacKinlay & Co and drinks group Whyte & Mackay has asked for a sample to carry out tests with a view to possibly re-launching the defunct brand.
Mr Fastier said restoration workers found the crates under the hut’s floorboards in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged. It was originally thought the haul consisted only of three crates of Scotch.
“The unexpected find of the brandy crates - one labelled Chas MacKinlay & Co and the other labelled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale - is a real bonus,” Mr Fastier said.
Ice has cracked some of the bottles, but the restorers are confident the five crates contain intact bottles “given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved”.
“The smell of whisky in the surrounding ice before excavation commenced also indicated full bottles of spirits were inside, albeit that one or more might have broken," he added.
Mr Fastier said ice had cracked some of the crates and formed inside them. This would make extracting the contents delicate, but the trust would decide how to do so in coming weeks.
Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte & Mackay, whose company supplied the MacKinlay’s whisky for Shackleton, described the find as “a gift from the heavens" for whisky lovers.
Exhibit hails maritime heritage at Mokupapapa Discovery Center
By Karin Stanton - Hawaii 24/7
A new NOAA exhibit commemorating the rich maritime heritage of Papahanaumokukuakea Marine National Monument opened Friday at Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo.
“Lost on a Reef” focuses on shipwreck sites discovered over the last the decade that represent 200 years of maritime history in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
It also highlights the work conducted by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries maritime archaeologists to interpret and protect these sites.
“The exhibit will give visitors an opportunity to experience these fascinating maritime heritage sites and their stories up close and in a more personal way,” said Kelly Gleason, Monument maritime archaeologist, NOAA Maritime Heritage Program.
“Interpretation of these shipwreck sites helps us understand the importance of remaining connected to this place, and why it is vital to protect Papahanaumokuakea’s natural and cultural resources for years to come.”
"Pirates" plunder shipwreck safe
By Matt Deans - The Coffs Coast Advocate
Expert divers have plundered the 123-year-old shipwreck of NSW’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
The SS Keilawarra, off North Solitary Island, collided with another steamer in 1886, killing at least 40 people.
In a modern-day act of piracy on a sophisticated scale, one of the safes aboard the Heritage-listed wreck has been cut open 75 metres down and its contents stolen.
Commercial shipwreck salvagers are believed responsible for the crime given the difficulty of using underwater oxy-cutting tools at such a depth. Experienced local divers who discovered the heist have notified authorities but it’s still unclear exactly how and when the safe was ‘cracked’.
“Usually if treasure or anything of precious value is found on a shipwreck and illegally taken there’s scuttlebutt that passes around diving circles – but up until now we haven’t heard any rumours,” Coffs Harbour diver Mark Spencer said.
Leading maritime archaeologist, NSW Heritage Branch deputy director Tim Smith, said the government was waiting on further evidence from the site.
“This is significant. Of the 1800 shipwrecks in NSW, only 10 per cent have been discovered and this was the only wreck we know of with a safe onboard,” Mr Smith said.
Under Federal and State laws, divers caught tampering with shipwrecks face fines of between $100,000 and $1 million.
Whisky on the rocks, for more than 100 years
By Stephen McGinty - News Scotsman
For those who like their dram chilled, it's perfect. A whisky that sustained explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole a century ago has been drilled out of the Antarctic ice.
Five crates buried under ice have been recovered by a heritage team restoring the explorer's hut. Al Fastier, the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team leader, yesterday said he believes some bottles are still intact.
The whisky was made by McKinlay and Co, and drinks group Whyte & Mackay has asked for a sample to carry out tests with a view to re-launching the brand.
Although ice cracked some of the bottles, which had been left there in 1909, the restorers said they are confident the five crates contain intact bottles "given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved".
Mr Fastier said the team thought there were two whisky and brandy crates and were amazed to find five. Restoration workers found the crates under the hut's floorboards in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged.
The New Zealanders agreed to drill the ice to try to retrieve some bottles, although the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed to by 12 Antarctic Treaty nations.
Blackbeard: the fight to keep the flagship alive
By Amy Kibler - Six & Special Projects Producer
Ask anyone who’s lived in North Carolina who the most famous pirate is and you’ll probably hear the name Blackbeard. The man is a legend across the state’s coastline. But did you know that the coast of Beaufort is home to the resting place of one of the pirate’s famous ships ?
We take you inside the history of the swashbuckler and the fight to save Queen Anne’s Revenge.
He put fear into the hearts of those at home and on the waters but Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, left this town one of his most prized possessions, his flagship. Before Beaufort was even on the map, Blackbeard made the area his stomping grounds. He’s believed to have hung out at what’s known as The Hammock House.
“There’s a house that’s show as the white house on the old charts that marks Beaufort Inlet and he is supposed to have spent nights there, eat, and drank grog and so forth,“ Beaufort Mayor Richard Stanley said.
After years of terror on the high seas, Blackbeard’s luck soon ran out, by running the Queen Anne’s Revenge aground in June 1718. Six months later, the pillaging pirate was killed in a battle at Ocracoke Inlet. But, it’s his beloved ship that keeps his legacy alive today.
In 1996, a group discovered the presumed shipwreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge and ever since then, archaeologists have been working to restore the pieces linked to the pirate.
By Mark Furler - Sunshine Coast Daily
Premier Anna Bligh has announced the date for the first of two major commemorations following the discovery of the AHS Centaur.
"A National Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance will be held at St John's Cathedral Ann Street Brisbane on 2 March 2010 at 11 AM," the Premier said in a statement released this morning.
"The Order of Service for the ceremony is being prepared in consultation with key stakeholders but we wanted to give survivors and relatives of survivors time to make the arrangements they need to be there.
"A further ceremony proposed to be conducted at sea for Centaur relatives is yet to be scheduled and the details are being worked through with the commemoration taskforce."
In January, a memorial plaque was positioned by the expedition crew on the foredeck of the wreck of the Centaur honours those who lost their lives.