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From 7th Space Interactive

NOAA will lead a three-week research expedition in August to study World War II shipwrecks sunk in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The shipwrecks are located in an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” which includes sunken vessels from U.S. and British naval fleets, merchant ships, and German U-boats.

“The information collected during this expedition will help us better understand and document this often lost chapter of America’s maritime history and its significance to the nation,” said David W. Alberg, expedition leader and superintendent of the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

“It continues the work conducted by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries last summer to research and document historically significant shipwrecks tragically lost during World War II.”

Alberg said the expedition, which happens August 4-24, will also help document the condition of these vessels some 67 years after they were lost.

Understanding the wrecks’ current condition is a crucial first step in establishing efforts to preserve these historic sites, which serve as “time capsules from one of the darkest times in the nation’s history,” he said.

This year’s project will be divided into two phases. Phase one of the expedition will be conducted aboard the NOAA Research Vessel Nancy Foster.

Using advanced remote sensing technologies, including sidescan and multibeam sonar systems, researchers will attempt to locate several previously undiscovered WWII shipwrecks.

NOAA and its expedition partners from the University of North Carolina will also deploy an advanced remotely operated vehicle to take high-definition imagery of these shipwrecks.

From the Crawley Observer

A team of 12 divers will today (Thursday, August 6) begin a five-day project to try to find a Landing Craft Tank (LCT) which sank in 1944.

The team hopes the project in Bracklesham will solve the sea mystery and save the LCT before it is lost to the sea forever.

The LCT was used in the D-Day landings, carrying tanks and armoured bulldozers. It was part of J Force and was due to land at Juno Beach for the Canadian and British forces before it was sunk by gunfire.

"There are many second world war wrecks along the south coast and many remain unidentified," said Alison Mayor, who will be leading the diving project.

"Their story could soon be lost forever to the sea. Some of these wrecks have been dived for many years, but it is only when you start looking at the story behind their sinking do you begin to appreciate their true historical significance."

Last year the divers, from Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, finally solved the mystery of how two tanks, two bulldozers and a gun came to rest on the seabed eight miles offshore in Bracklesham.

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From Diario de Sevilla

El investigador y cronista oficial de Cabra Antonio Moreno Hurtado ha descubierto un documento que constata el envío de una remesa de pesos de plata desde las Indias con destino a la Corona española en la fragata de guerra La Mercedes, hundida frente a las costas españolas en 1804 y parte de cuya carga fue recuperada por la empresa Odyssey en 2007.

Según se dio a conocer en el XV Curso de Franciscanismo en Andalucía, que se celebra en Lucena, el documento podría aportar, en opinión de Moreno, "una prueba de valor" al litigio que mantiene el Gobierno español con la empresa norteamericana por la soberanía de los bienes encontrados, valorados en unos 400 millones de euros.

Para el investigador, "este hallazgo viene a sumarse a otras causas analizadas en torno a este caso, como el hecho de que todas las monedas fuesen de nuevo cuño, lo que descarta que se tratara de monedas en circulación enviadas por mercaderes, o la constatación de la existencia de dos seguros que avalaban las cargas que los particulares enviaban a través de estos buques de guerra, una práctica habitual en la época", según Moreno.

Doctor en Filosofía y Letras e Historia, Moreno Hurtado se encuentra desde hace tres años inmerso en un estudio acerca de la emigración de religiosos franciscanos andaluces a las Indias y tiene un amplio conocimiento acerca de los viajes de personas y mercancías a través de la ruta que unía oriente con España.

Mas...

By Greg Quinn - Bloomberg

Canadian park workers found what they presume is a U.S. World War II aircraft that sank off the coast of Quebec in 1942 with five people trapped inside.

Sonar scans show the plane is in “very good condition,” and divers and remote-controlled vehicles will make closer inspections, Parks Canada said in a statement today.

“There is a possibility of finding human remains,” the statement said.

Canadian archaeologists presume the wreckage is an amphibious PBY 5A plane that sank in 1942 off the coast of the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan. Four crew members of that plane escaped before it flooded and were rescued in rough seas by local fisherman who rowed out to save them.

U.S. and Canadian officials are cooperating to protect the site and see what can be recovered, the statement said.

“This plane is a testament to the collaboration between Canada and the U.S. during the Second World War,” Christian Paradis, Canada’s regional minister for Quebec, said today in the statement.

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By Pirjo Svensson - Epoch Times

Swedish divers were surprised to discover a well-kept shipwreck from the 17th century outside the Värmdö municipality, in the archipelago of Stockholm.

“We were actually searching for a cargo ship that had sank in the 1940s, but then we found this instead,” Markus Hårde, one of the wreck divers told Svenska Dagbladet, a Swedish paper.

The shipwreck is probably a Dutch trading ship from early 17th century. Marcus Hårde discovered the wreck together with Anders Backström and Jonas Rydin in May.

The divers saw a lion figurine on the rudder and nicknamed the it “The Lion Wreck.”

The ship with three masts seems to be well kept, and has been under 141 feet (43 meters) of water for 400 years.

The divers contacted Johan Rännby, a researcher in marine ecology, at Södertörns University in Stockholm.

“Why this discovery is exciting is because it is rather old. I have not as yet dived to see it, but by looking at the pictures and films, I am quite convinced it is from the 17th century,” Johan Rönnby said on Monday.

The ship seems to be a sister to “The Ghost Wreck,” found in 2007 in the middle of the Baltic Sea, East of Gotska Sandön, a tiny island outside east coast of Sweden.

After doing research the scientists stated that the Ghost Wreck was a Dutch trading ship from the beginning of 17th century, and was probably used for trade between Amsterdam and Stockholm.

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By Christian Peregin - Times of Malta

The one-of-a-kind World War II wreck sunken near Manoel Island is facing an uncertain future after the company responsible for building a yacht marina in the area is reluctant to give a guarantee to protect it.

"We will try to work around it as much as we can. The breakwater won't touch the wreck, but at the end of the day the wreck is still going to be smack in the middle of a marina," Midi CEO Ben Muscat told The Sunday Times.

He said he did not "anticipate" any works close to the site, but said he could only pledge to save the site "to the extent that we can".

Last November, however, he had been more reassuring: "The sunken wreck will not be affected by any of the marine works that we are planning in the vicinity of Lazzaretto. No works will be carried out close to the wreck," he had said.

The wreck in question is a unique X127 Waterlighter sunk in 1942, which lies fully intact in the waters beneath Lazzaretto Creek. It was touted as an ideal diving site by a number of divers who wanted to ensure it was preserved.

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By Debora Rey

Divers have concluded a mission to retrieve 9.5 tons of unrefined gold and silver worth nearly $22 million from a shipwreck off southern Argentina.

A border police officer on duty in the city of Rio Gallegos confirmed to The Associated Press that the effort to recover the Polar Mist's valuable cargo ended Sunday.

The refitted Chilean fishing trawler sank Jan. 18, two days after its eight-person crew sent out a distress call during a violent storm. They were rescued by helicopter, but the vessel went down while being towed toward shore near the Straits of Magellan.

The boat sank 25 miles (40 kilometers) from land and came to rest in waters about 260 feet (80 meters) deep.

The border police officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted by name.

His agency is involved in the recovery effort, though he was unable to say how much of the treasure was recovered.

Jorge Palmes — president of Cerro Vanguardia SA, the Argentine owner of the mine where the gold was extracted — said seven bars of metal remained on the ocean floor.

By Suherdjoko - Jakarta Post

A group of archeologists from Yogyakarta have discovered ancient Chinese ceramic artifacts estimated to date from between the 13th and 16th century AD in the waters around Genting Island, off the coast of the Central Java town of Jepara.

Head of the team, Priyatno Hadi Sulistyarto, said Friday the findings indicated that the Java Sea was a busy international trade route.

"From the features of the artifacts, which depict animal and flower motifs, albeit not so detailed, we assume the commodities were manufactured as mass products.

They have characteristics commonly found in the Ming Dynasty," Priyatno said.

The 16 member team includes three underwater archeologists.

A dive master from the Association of Indonesian Diving Sports was hired to lead the underwater search.

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