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Shipworm threatens archaeological treasures
From Physorg
The dreaded shipworm is moving into the Baltic Sea, threatening artefacts of the area's cultural heritage.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, suspect that the unfortunate spread is due to climate change, and are currently involved in an EU project to determine which archaeological remains are at risk.
The shipworm is capable of completely destroying large maritime archaeological finds in only 10 years, and while it has avoided the Baltic Sea in the past, since it does not do well in low salinity water, it can now be spotted along both the Danish and German Baltic Sea coasts.
The shipworm has for example attacked shipwrecks from the 1300s off the coast of Germany, and we are also starting to see its presence along the Swedish coast, for example at the Ribersborg cold bath house in Malmö,' says Christin Appelqvist, doctoral student at the Department of Marine Ecology, University of Gothenburg.
Appelqvist and her colleagues believe that the development may be due to climate change. In short, the increased water temperature may help the shipworms to become adapted to lower salinity.
The group is part of the EU project WreckProtect, a cooperative effort to assess which archaeological treasures are at risk. The project includes researchers from Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as experts from France and Germany.
Memorial plaque placed on Centaur
By Andrew fraser From -The Australian
A brass memorial plate was placed on the AHS Centaur early today, despite the ship being classified as a war grave, after a special permit was granted in record time to override the Historic Shipwrecks Act.
The state of the ocean floor has led to some problems with laying a memorial to the hospital ship, which has been two kilometres beneath the waves for more than 66 years after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II.
The brass plate was blessed at a service in Sydney three weeks ago attended by members of the Centaur Association, and originally the intent was to place the plate on the ocean floor beside the wreck.
But when ship hunter David Mearns, who located the Centaur earlier this month, lowered an identical plate to the ocean floor it promptly sank into the mud.
On Sunday night the Queensland government urgently contacted its federal counterpart to see if the plate could be placed on the ship itself.
Government rescues Centaur memorial bid
By Christine Kellett - Brisbane Times
The Federal Government has given special permission to survivors and relatives of the 1943 Centaur naval disaster to fix a memorial plaque on the shipwreck after mud spoiled plans for a legal commemoration.
The 66-year-old shipwreck, which remained a mystery until last month when it was found two kilometers below the surface in waters off Moreton Island, is protected as a war grave under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act, meaning it cannot be touched or tampered with.
A trial to place a bronze plaque beside the wreck to commemorate the 268 lives lost to the tragedy failed when it sunk in deep mud on the sea bed.
Ian Hudson, of the 2/3 AHS Centaur Association, told brisbanetimes.com.au the Commonwealth had this afternoon granted special dispensation to the group to fix a plaque to the wreck itself.
Sunk Australia WWII hospital ship Centaur: first images
From BBC News
An Australian World War II hospital ship, the Centaur, has been seen for the first time since it sank more than 60 years ago with a loss of 268 lives.
Images of the wreck, more than 2km (1.3 miles) below the sea, were captured by a remote-controlled underwater camera.
The ship's location was discovered last month following a hi-tech search.
Australia says the ship, which went down in May 1943, was torpedoed by the Japanese. Japan says the circumstances surrounding its sinking are unclear.
The search team found the ship on 20 December off the Queensland coast, about 30 miles due east of the southern tip of Moreton Island.
Favourable conditions allowed the crew to send down a camera on a remotely-operated submersible vehicle over the weekend. Further dives are planned.
Harbor Branch part of hush-hush search for Amelia Earhart's plane
From TCPalm
Now it can be told: About 20 staffers from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute took part in a hush-hush search for Amelia Earhart’s plane in the depths of the Pacific Ocean during spring 2009.
Now it can be admitted: They didn’t find the wreckage of the Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft that disappeared July 2, 1937, as Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan attempted an around-the-world flight.
But now it can be said: Members of the expedition still deem it a success because of the scientific information compiled and discoveries made along the way, including a new species of deep-water fish and the mapping of about 2,500 nautical square miles of the ocean floor, much of it within the newly established Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“Finding Amelia’s plane was certainly not a sure thing,” said Lee Frey, senior ocean engineer at the Harbor Branch division of Florida Atlantic University and project manager of the expedition, “so we built a good scientific plan to make sure the mission was successful. As a result, we did some very useful science in a very unexplored part of the world.”
Glitches delay second Centaur mission
By David Barbeler
The Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur has been positively identified with high definition video footage more than 2,000 metres below the sea surface.
Shipwreck hunters took the first ever underwater footage of the Centaur, sunk by a Japanese torpedo in 1943, at 2.50am (AEDT) on Sunday during a six hour mission to the wreck.
World renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns found the Centaur wreck on December 20 last year, 48km east of the southern tip of Moreton Island at a depth of 2,059 metres.
Also tasked with filming the Centaur, Mr Mearns - alongside a crew of 33 and a submarine robot named Remora 3 - positively identified the ship's Red Cross, a distinctive star on the bow, and a corroded identification number 47.
Several other features of the ship were also identified including the mast, anchor and guard rails.
Cartagena busca exhibir el expolio de Odyssey
Jose Alberto Gonzalez - La Verdad
Cuando, en 1804, frente a la costa de Portugal, un oficial de la marina inglesa exigió al almirante Bustamante que le permitiera inspeccionar la fragata "Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes", el bravo oficial de la Armada Española no dudó en abrir fuego para defender a cañonazo limpio el rico tesoro del Virreinato de Perú que transportaba desde Lima hasta Cádiz.
Estaban en juego no sólo el honor de la patria, que en ese momento paradójicamente estaba en paz con Inglaterra, sino también 500.000 monedas de oro y plata, entre otros bienes.
Doscientos seis años después, ni el Ministerio de Cultura se ha liado a cañonazos con la empresa cazatesoros Odyssey para recuperar la carga del navío expoliada por ésta del fondo marino en mayo del 2007, ni los responsables del Museo Nacional de Arqueología Subacuática (Arqua), ubicado en Cartagena, se liarán a su vez a intercambiar pólvora con los del Ministerio para que el tesoro recale en este centro.
Pero, al igual que los especialistas de Cultura acaban de ganar una importante batalla en la guerra judicial con Odyssey en Estados Unidos (EE. UU.), los del Arqua usan todas sus armas de persuasión para que el Gobierno español exhiba el tesoro en el museo que él mismo construyó como referente nacional del patrimonio estatal sumergido en mares, ríos o lagos.
El juez Mark Pizzo, de Tampa (Florida), sentenció el pasado 23 de diciembre que la compañía norteamericana Odyssey Marine Exploration debía devolver a España en diez días la carga, valorada en 500 millones de dólares. En total son 17 toneladas de reales de plata y escudos de oro acuñados en el Virreinato del Perú.
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By Rachel Thomson - The Daily World
Washaway Beach, the sandy area between North Cove and Tokeland that is infamous for rapid erosion that causes whole houses to tumble into the ocean, now has a second reason for fame.
Coastal storms in late December and early January have unearthed the remnants of a shipwreck.
The large wooden piece, measuring close to 100 feet in length, contains dozens of iron spikes jutting out of the sand, just south of Warrenton Cannery Road.
“When I heard about it, I high-tailed it down fast and took a look,” said Don Pickinpaugh, who owns some property nearby.
Pickinpaugh is one of dozens of people over the past several days who have been coming to the beach to get a look at what may be a portion of the freighter ship, Canadian Exporter, according to Rex Martin, executive director of the Westport Maritime Museum.
Martin said museum employees heard about the sighting of the piece from beachgoers and went to take pictures.
Based on its location, Martin said the piece is likely part of the freighter that wrecked at the mouth of Willapa Harbor in August of 1921, while en route to Portland from Vancouver, B.C. to complete loading some lumber bound for Asia.
More to read...