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Shipwrecks

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Why Are There So Many Shipwrecks in the Great Lakes?

Meet a maritime archaeologist who explores the historic ships and dugout canoes that lurk beneath the surface of her watery backyard

The Edmund Fitzgerald measured 729 feet long and had a gross tonnage of 13,632.

Nobody Knows What Sank the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald.’ But Its Doomed Final Voyage Will Always Be America’s Defining Shipwreck

Fifty years after the freighter disappeared into the depths of Lake Superior, the mystery of its demise—and the mournful ballad it inspired—still haunt the popular imagination

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There's More to That

The ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ Sank Half a Century Ago. We’re Still Fascinated

A massive freighter carrying thousands of tons of iron ore disappeared in Lake Superior, setting shipping on a new course

Storage jars found among the cargo known as Dor L1

New Research

Three Shipwrecks Discovered Off the Coast of Israel Shed New Light on the History of Iron Age Maritime Trade

An anchor, basket handles, jars and other artifacts were found among the cargoes at the three sites, the oldest of which dates to the 11th century B.C.E.

Divers excavating the 12th-century Huaguangjiao One wreck uncover stacked Song dynasty bowls.

Treasure Trove of Shipwrecks Along China’s Coast Reveals How East Met West on the Maritime Silk Road

Sunken finds in the South China Sea testify to rich trade networks used over hundreds of years. The sea routes brought porcelain, tea and other goods from Asia to Africa, the Middle East and Europe

“This ship is not as strong as the Nimrod constructionally,” Ernest Shackleton wrote to his wife of Endurance. “I would exchange her for the old Nimrod any day now except for comfort.”

New Research

Explorer Ernest Shackleton May Have Known His Ship ‘Endurance’ Wasn’t Equipped to Survive the Antarctic Ice

The vessel, which sank in November 1915, had structural shortcomings, including weak deck frames and no diagonal beams to strengthen the hull, a new study argues

During the summer of 2025, a team of divers pulled up 1,051 silver coins known as reales, five gold coins called escudos and other gold artifacts.

Divers Recover More Than $1 Million Worth of Gold and Silver Coins From 310-Year-Old ‘Treasure Fleet’ Shipwrecks

The vessels sank in a violent hurricane off the coast of Florida in July 1715, when they were traveling from Cuba to Spain with an estimated $400 million worth of coins and jewels from the New World

Diver Andrew Donn swims above one of the Seiner’s trawl doors on July 27, 2025.

This Fishing Vessel Went Missing Without a Trace in 1929. Divers Just Found It Off the Coast of Nantucket

After the captain completed his required daily check-in on January 18, 1929, no one ever saw or heard from the ST “Seiner” again

Deep-sea divers retrieve artifacts from the wreckage of the Britannic, which rests nearly 400 feet below sea level.

The Titanic’s Sister Ship, the Britannic, Sank in 1916. For the First Time, Divers Have Recovered Artifacts From Its Wreck

The luxury liner was requisitioned as a hospital ship during World War I. Thirty people died after the vessel struck a German naval mine and sank off the coast of Greece

The ship is still mostly intact on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

This Shipwreck Eluded Searchers for 139 Years. A Group of Historians and Citizen Scientists Found It in Two Hours

The 144-foot-long “F.J. King,” which sank in Lake Michigan in 1886, was known as a “ghost ship” that nobody could locate

The helmet was discovered at the site of the Battle of the Egadi Islands.

Cool Finds

Divers Find a Well-Preserved Roman Helmet From the Naval Battle That Ended a Punic War

The Montefortino-style headwear was found with its cheek guards intact

The James Carruthers was one of a dozen ships that sank during the "White Hurricane" that swept across the Great Lakes in November 1913.

Shipwreck Hunter Finds Large Freighter That Sank in Lake Huron During the ‘White Hurricane’ 112 Years Ago

The 529-foot-long vessel is submerged 190 feet deep, resting upside down on the American side of the lake

Maritime archaeologists confirmed the wreck was the long-lost Frank D. Barker.

A Man Noticed a Strange Shape on Satellite Images. It Turned Out to Be a 138-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan

While sailing through a heavy blanket of fog, the “Frank D. Barker” went off course and ran into a limestone outcropping in October 1887

The vessel's timbers are shrinking and its iron fittings are disintegrating.

America's 250th Anniversary

Watch as Experts Preserve a 249-Year-Old Gunboat That Sank During the American Revolution

Badly damaged during the Battle of Valcour Island, the “Philadelphia” is now the focus of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

A large section of the possible La Fortuna shipwreck sits on the beach in southern North Carolina

In the Muddy Banks of North Carolina, Student Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Remnants of a Centuries-Old Spanish Ship

While taking measurements of an abandoned wharf site, the students found timber from what experts believe may be part of La Fortuna, a Spanish ship destroyed nearly 300 years ago

The letter sold at auction in April and is now on display at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver.

See Rare Letters From a Titanic Passenger, Who Called the Vessel a ‘Fine Ship’ Days Before It Sank

Archibald Gracie’s letter, which recently sold at auction, is part of a new exhibition at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver

The Edmund Fitzgerald was transporting iron ore when it sank in November 1975, killing all 29 crew members.

These Swimmers Are Finishing the Final Voyage of the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald,’ Which Sank in Lake Superior 50 Years Ago

Starting at the wreck site, 68 athletes are completing a 411-mile relay to honor the 29 men who died in the Great Lakes tragedy on November 10, 1975

Researchers deposited the larvae into the hull of a shipwreck off the coast of Belgium.

Scientists Deposit 200,000 Rare Oysters in a Shipwreck 100 Feet Below the Surface of the North Sea

European flat oysters have nearly disappeared from the region. Now, researchers are helping them recover by depositing the oyster larvae on gravel beds off the coast of Belgium

The Earl of Chatham, previously a Royal Navy vessel called the HMS Hind, was discovered in February 2024 on the shores of Sanday.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Boy Found a Shipwreck on a Scottish Beach. It Turned Out to Be a 250-Year-Old Warship From the American Revolution

The HMS “Hind,” later renamed the “Earl of Chatham,” was a frigate in the British Royal Navy before it was repurposed as a whaling vessel

The destroyer was commissioned in 1942 and used in the Guadalcanal campaign.

Underwater Archaeologists Capture Photos of Japanese Warship That Hasn’t Been Seen Since It Sank During World War II

The “Teruzuki” was a Japanese Navy destroyer that sank near the Solomon Islands on December 12, 1942. Eight decades later, researchers have identified the wreckage in the Pacific

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