Tall & Wooden Ships

Whaling shipwreck found in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Ocean Exploration documented the brig Industry shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 2,000m below the Gulf surface. The brig sank in the summer of 1836 after a storm snapped its masts and opened the hull to the sea.

The remains of the 64-foot long, two-masted wooden brig open a window into a little known chapter of American history when descendants of African slaves and Native Americans served as essential crew in one of the nation’s oldest industries.

Discovered in 2011

The ship’s remains were first documented in 2011, when a geological data company scanning an oil lease area spotted the carcass of a ship at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Following standard procedures, the company reported its finding to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which logged the wreck as No. 15563 and left it alone.

Endurance was crushed by the sea-ice and sank in 3,000m of water
The wreck of the Endurance remains one of the most iconic of all shipwrecks since it was crushed by the sea-ice in 1915, and sank in 3,000m of water.

Shackleton's Endurance found

What remains of the Endurance is 3,000m down in waters that are pretty much permanently covered in thick sea-ice, the same sea-ice that trapped and then ruptured the hull of Shackleton's polar yacht.

The gold letters of the ship's name, alongside ornate scrolling, emerged out of the dark as the ROV approached the wreck.

Atlanta Shipwreck found in Lake Superior after 131 years

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) announced that the wreck of the Atlanta, a three-masted schooner-barge, was located by sonar in the summer of 2021  but the discovery wasn't made public until research had been conducted to give the wreck context, according to Corey Adkins, the communications and content director of GLSHS.

Into the Depths podcasts persented by National Geographic
"Into the Depths" podcasts, persented by National Geographic, features National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts as she takes us on a personal journey with a group of Black divers seeking and documenting slave shipwrecks all over the world. Learn more at: NatGeo.com/IntotheDepths.

NatGeo presents gripping podcasts on slave ship wrecks and divers documenting them

In the new six-part podcast, Into the Depths, Roberts tells of her time with a group of Black divers whose mission is to locate and help document the wrecks.

The Plus Wreck: Late 19th-Century Windjammer in Finland's Ă…land Islands

A rare photo of the sailing ship Plus at anchor in a harbour
A rare photo of the sailing ship Plus at anchor in a harbour. Source: Ă…land Maritime Museum

Located in the Åland Archi­pelago of the Baltic Sea is the wreck of the late 19th-century, German-made, three-masted, iron-hulled barque named Plus, which was lost on a stormy night in 1933. Andrea Murdock Alpini describes his journey there and his dives on this wreck.

Stern of the wreck. The stern post ends to opening in planking, tiller moved in it. The transom has been above this structure. Uppermost planks on the sides of the stern have fallen away.
Stern of the wreck. The stern post ends to opening in planking, tiller moved in it. The transom has been above this structure. Uppermost planks on the sides of the stern have fallen away.

The age of a unique fluit in the Baltic Sea resolved

Badewanne originally discovered the wreck last year at the depth of 85m. This summer, during the filming of the documentary film Fluit, the dive team found the transom of the exceptionally well-preserved wreck.

As the divers succeeded in turning over the transom, which was lying face down on the seabed, an engraving with the year 1636 was revealed, along with an image of a swan. The swan is presumed to represent the name of the ship. The divers also took measurements of the wreck to determine the accurate size of the vessel.

NOAA designates new national marine sanctuary in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan

An exciting recreational opportunity: a diver swims over the two-masted schooner, Walter B. Allen, which sank in 1880. (Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)

“Preserving this region furthers the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision of locally-led, collaborative conservation,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This designation is also an exciting opportunity for the public to celebrate and help protect this piece of our nation’s rich maritime history.”

A three masted ship, similar to WA08 which sank in the Thames Estuary, Essex in the mid-to-late 19th century, is docked at the busy Southampton Docks, with other sailing vessels visible in the background. Date: 1878

Two Mystery Merchant Shipwrecks Now Protected

The two wooden cargo vessels, known as GAD23 off Goodwin Sands in Kent and WA08 in the Thames Estuary in Essex, have been protected by scheduling. This means recreational divers can dive them but their contents are protected by law and must remain in situ.

Two-masted schooner in Lake Michigan identified as the Hamilton

The identification of the wreck, which sits upright in 85m (275 ft) of water off Saugatuck, took over a year and was facilitated by technical scuba divers Todd White of Saugatuck, Bob Underhill of Kalamazoo and Jeff Vos of Holland working in conjunction with Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates (MSRA). These three divers comprise the premiere deep technical dive team in West Michigan.