shipwrecks

Clarence Donnor who was mistakenly believed to have been aboard USS Indianapolis when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine in July 1945.

Navy Admits To 70-Year Crew List Error In USS Indianapolis Disaster

2:34pm March 23, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Petty Officer Clarence Donnor was mistakenly listed as a passenger on the ill-fated ship before it embarked on a secret mission and was later sunk by a Japanese submarine.

HMAS AE-1, the Royal Australian Navy's first submarine, went down mysteriously in Sept. 1914. It has been found off Papua New Guinea.

World News

Australian Submarine That Vanished In WWI Located Off Papua New Guinea

10:27am December 21, 2017

by Scott Neuman

Twelve previous government-funded expeditions had tried and failed to locate HMAS AE-1 and its crew of 35, which disappeared less than three months into the war.

A sketch illustrating the HMS Terror at sunrise.

World News

U.K. Offers Famed Arctic Shipwrecks As 'Exceptional Gift' To Canada

5:47pm October 23, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

British explorer John Franklin died in Canada's northern reaches in the 1840s, along with all of his crew. Only recently were his ships finally found. Now, they are a gift from the U.K. to Canada.

In this July 10, 1945, photo provided by U.S. Navy media content operations, USS Indianapolis (CA 35) is shown off the Mare Island Navy Yard, in Northern California, 20 days before she was sunk by Japanese torpedoes.

National

Wreckage Of USS Indianapolis, Sunk By Japanese In WWII, Found In Pacific

10:43am August 20, 2017

by Scott Neuman

The cruiser was returning from a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components when she was sunk by a Japanese submarine. The ensuing loss of life is the large in the history of the U.S. Navy.

In its prime, the Hero sailed through frigid temperatures and ice-strewn waters in the South Pole. But now it's sinking, leaking oil and threatening Washington's oysters.

A Forgotten Shipwreck Imperils Washington's Oysters

11:53am March 30, 2017

by Molly Solomon

The sunken Hero, an Antarctic research vessel from the 1960s, is leaking oil into Willapa Bay, where more than half of the state's oysters are grown. And no one knows how to remove it.

Antikythera team members Nikolas Giannoulakis, Theotokis Theodoulou, and Brendan Foley inspect small finds from the shipwreck, while decompressing after a dive of 165 feet beneath the surface of the Mediterranean Sea in Greece.

Ancient Shipwreck Off Greek Island Yields A Different Sort Of Treasure

9:54am June 28, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Divers exploring the famous Antikythera shipwreck, 200 feet beneath the water's surface in Greece, have turned up a heavy object they think might have been a powerful weapon in the first century B.C.

Queue Listen Now

A Spanish galleon is seen here in an artist's depiction of trade on the high seas in the 16th century. Colombia says it's found a galleon from 1708 that is believed to hold billions of dollars' worth of treasure.

World News

Wreck Of Legendary Spanish Galleon Is Finally Found, Colombia Says

3:24pm December 05, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The San Jose sank in 1708. The value of its cargo — believed to include gold, silver, emeralds, and other precious cargo — has been estimated at more than $10 billion.

National

The Shipwreck That Led Confederate Veterans To Risk All For Union Lives

2:11pm April 28, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

On April 27, 1865, a steamboat named the Sultana exploded and sank while transporting Union soldiers up the Mississippi. An estimated 1,800 people died, but few today have heard of this disaster.

Queue Listen Now

A shipwreck is seen near the coast in Lake Michigan, where clear waters recently allowed a Coast Guard helicopter to take striking aerial photos of several wreck sites.

National

Shipwrecks Ahoy: Coast Guard Shares Pics From Crystal-Clear Lake Michigan

3:38pm April 20, 2015

by Bill Chappell

All of that cold, fresh water has helped preserve wrecked ships over the years. A Coast Guard helicopter recently captured some striking images of historic ships.

A November 1989 photo of Tommy Thompson holding a $50 pioneer gold piece retrieved from the wreck of the SS Central America. Thompson, who had been on the lam for two years, was arrested on Tuesday.

National

Treasure Hunter Who Disappeared With Shipwreck Loot Appears In Court

1:50pm January 29, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Tommy Thompson, who found one of the most lucrative wrecks in history, had been living under an assumed name after failing to appear in a lawsuit brought by the recovery project's backers.