Shipwreck News

A barge wreck found in September last year has been confirmed as the earliest known shipwreck discovered to date in Western Australia's Swan River, the WA Museum said. The barge was identified as one that lost in 1882 while carrying limestone from Fremantle to Perth.The State Government's release of detailed 3D multibeam surveys of the Swan River riverbed played a crucial role in the initial discovery of the wreck, which was first identified by Maritime Archaeology Association WA President Patrick Morrison and his colleagues Jess Green and Ian McCann.Following this discovery in 2023…

Search teams detected underwater sounds while scanning the North Atlantic for a tourist submersible that vanished with five people aboard during a deep-sea voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said early on Wednesday.The detection of the sounds by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday, day three of the search, was reported by the Coast Guard as the clock ticked down to the last 24 hours of the missing craft's presumed oxygen supply.Robotic undersea search operations were diverted to the area where the sounds seemed to originate…

An investigation by Australian research organisation CSIRO’s research vessel RV Investigator has confirmed the location of the wreck of the MV Blythe Star.The 44-metre motor vessel Blythe Star was a coastal freighter that disappeared off Tasmania nearly 50 years ago. The vessel was travelling from Hobart to King Island with a cargo of superphosphate fertiliser and a ton of beer in kegs when, on October 13, 1973, it suddenly capsized and sank off the southwest coast of Tasmania…

Researchers from NOAA, the state of Michigan, and Ocean Exploration Trust discovered an intact shipwreck resting hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Located within NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the shipwreck has been identified as the sailing ship Ironton. Well preserved by the cold freshwater of the Great Lakes for over a century, the 191-ft. Ironton rests upright with its three masts still standing."Using this cutting-edge technology, we have not only located a pristine shipwreck lost for over a century…

The Scottish Maritime Museum has successfully bid for an 80-year-old bottle of whisky salvaged from one of Scotland’s most famous shipwrecks and the inspiration for the Ealing Studio comedy Whisky Galore!The unlabelled bottle of blended whisky from the 1923 SS Politician, which ran aground off the Isle of Eriskay in 1941, was acquired by the Scottish Maritime Museum with the support of the National Fund for Acquisitions at The Grand Whisky Auction.The rare find will become part…

Brookes Bell has strengthened its marine casualty capability with the addition of two listed special casualty representatives (SCRs) boosting the total number of SCRs within the company to five.SCRs are highly specialist salvage and wreck removal consultants and, as such, number only around 50 globally. They are appointed by the Lloyd’s of London’s SCOPIC Committee for their exceptional level of expertise in the field of salvage and wreck removal.Joining the Brookes Bell team are William Leschaeve and Michael Riddell.Riddell is a senior master mariner, based in Brookes Bell’s Singapore office. Following an initial career at sea with Safmarine, he later served on ocean-going salvage tugs responsible for ocean towage and emergency response.

The maritime authorities of the Government of Mexico have agreed to place a high priority on ratifying three important  International Maritime Organization (IMO) legal conventions, following a workshop in Mexico City.Mexico has said it will work towards ratifying the 2003 Fund Protocol, the 2001 Bunkers Convention and the 2007 Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention. It will also consider accession to the 2010 HNS Convention. The Governments of Guatemala and Honduras expressed similar intent.Both the Fund Protocol and the Bunkers Convention deal with compensation following oil spills from ships. Together with the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is continuing its work to promote ratification of the international treaty covering wreck removal – at the 10th Maritime Salvage & Casualty Response Conference in London, this week (11-12 September).Depending on its location, a shipwreck may be a hazard to navigation, potentially endangering other vessels and their crews.The Nairobi Convention covers the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks, drifting ships, objects from ships at sea, and floating offshore installations.The Nairobi convention includes provisions for coastal States to take action in cases of container fires on board ships…

Up to 150 people have died in a large shipwreck off the coast of Libya, officially confirmed the UN's refugee agency International Rescue Committee (IRC).The incident in a line of tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea is a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis emerging out of the country, and of the urgent need for search and rescue missions to be resumed in the Mediterranean Sea, IRC said.While the battle in Tripoli rages against a backdrop of dysfunctional governance, more than 5,000 people remain trapped in detention centers. Around 60% of them are confined in close proximity to the violence.Yet refugees who have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety continue to be intercepted by the Libyan Coastguard and returned…

Saudi Arabia has acceded to two important International Maritime Organization (IMO)  treaties – the 1988 Protocol to the International Convention on Load Lines and the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks.The 1988 Load Lines protocol harmonizes the Load Lines Convention's survey and certification requirement with those contained in the SOLAS and MARPOL conventions and revises certain regulations in the technical Annexes to the convention.The Nairobi Convention provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may have the potential to affect adversely the safety of lives, goods and property at sea…

Hazardous shipwrecks can cause many problems. Depending on its location, a wreck may be a hazard to navigation, potentially endangering other vessels and their crews.International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention (WRC) goes some way to resolving these issues. It covers the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks, drifting ships, objects from ships at sea, and floating offshore installations.The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, was adopted by an international conference held in Kenya in 2007. The Convention provides a set of uniform international rules…