Wrecks & Archaeology

Sea Hunters, L.P., a division of the Portland Maine based shipwreck research and recovery company Sub Sea Research, embark to recover of one of the world's wealthiest wrecks.

Update

It was reported that the wreck of the Port Nicholson was discovered in 2008 by Greg Brooks, of the American company Sub Sea Research, but the discovery was kept secret until February 2012.

Brooks initially claimed to be investigating an unidentified vessel, codenamed Blue Baron, that lay off the coast of Guyana in South America.

The vessel's hull, constructed without iron nails, is 16 m (52 feet) long, 5 m (16 feet) wide and 4 m (13 feet) deep. There is a hole in the right side of the hull and divers believe the ship sank during a storm.

They also discovered suspected human remains.

The expedition to the depths of the world's deepest and oldest lake was organized to search for historic artefacts linked with the Krugobaikal Railway, which saw numerous train crashes in the 19th century.

If that age is accurate, the skeleton, Dubbed Eva de Naharon, or Eve of Naharon, —along with three others found in underwater caves along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula —would be the oldest human skeleton ever found in the Americas

The three other skeletons excavated in the caves have been given a date range of 11,000 to 14,000 years ago, based on radiocarbon dating. The finds could provide new clues to how the Americas were first populated.

The submarine was reported lost Aug. 16, 1942.  Underwater video footage captured by an expedition hired by sons of the commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mannert L. Abele, allowed the Navy to confirm the discovery.

Japanese anti-submarine attack data recorded no attack in the Aleutian area at the time of the Grunion's disappearance, so the submarine's fate remained an unsolved mystery for more than 60 years, the US Navy said.

The marble bust was found near Arles, which was founded by Caesar.

France's culture ministry said the bust was from 46BC, the date of the southern town's foundation. The ministry described the bust - which shows a lined face and a balding head - as typical of realist portraits of the Republican era.

Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman republic, who greatly extended the Roman empire before seizing power and making himself dictator of Rome, paving the way for the imperial system.

The British submarine HMS Olympus, sank in 1942 at the height of the siege of Malta and is one of the most historic wrecks off the coast of this island.

The discovery of the wreck completes a historic and tragic story. During the height of the German and Italian blockade of Malta, the British Navy fought a constant battle to keep the valiant Island supplied with food, fuel and war supplies. Submarines were an essential part of this operation, both in bringing in supplies and defending the merchant shipping.

Commercial clearance divers were expected to survey the wreck once it had settled later on Sunday to ensure all the charges had detonated.

Moorings will then be installed by Parks Victoria before the government opens the site for divers, in about a month's time.

Built in 1978 and launched two years later, the frigate served Australia for 24 years before it was decommissioned in 2005.

It served in the Middle East following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1992 and helped evacuate Australians from Jakarta in 1998 during the student riots that deposed Indonesian president Suharto.