The proposed sinking of the SS United States has generated significant debate, with campaigners asserting that the ship constitutes a unique element of maritime heritage that warrants preservation.

The vessel, formerly the fastest transatlantic liner ever constructed, has been the focus of redevelopment initiatives for several years. Recently, proposals have surfaced to deliberately sink the ship to establish an artificial reef and diving attraction.

More than 150 years after it sank, the remains of the steamship Lac La Belle have been identified on the floor of Lake Michigan. The discovery, announced in February 2026, follows a long-running search by US shipwreck hunters using side-scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys.

The discovery

The wreck was located approximately 20 miles off Racine, Wisconsin, at a depth consistent with historical accounts. 

In a historic mission, professional deep-sea divers have retrieved a collection of artefacts from the wreck of HMHS Britannic, which sank after striking a mine in 1916 off the Greek island of Kea. The items, recovered from a depth exceeding 120 metres, offer new physical insight into the life and service of the ship and its passengers. The operation marks the first time objects have been brought up directly from the wreck site.

Update 14 Oct: 

The long-standing rent dispute that hindered a Florida county’s efforts to convert the historic ship into the world’s largest artificial reef has now been resolved. The agreement to settle this dispute was announced on Friday. On Saturday, conservancy and county officials gathered at the Philadelphia pier, where the ship is docked, for a brief title transfer ceremony.

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The Arcadian, built initially as the RMS Ortona in 1899 and later converted into a troopship during World War I, was en route from Salonika to Alexandria, transporting soldiers and medical personnel, when it was attacked on 15 April, 1917 and sunk by the German U-boat SM UC-74, resulting in the tragic loss of 279 lives.

The Arcadian had just completed a boat drill when a single torpedo hit it between the bridge and the foremast and sank within six minutes. 1,058 people were rescued

An ambitious digital imaging project has produced what researchers describe as a “digital twin” of the R.M.S. Titanic, showing the wreckage of the doomed ocean liner as if the water has been drained away.

The model was created with data using deep-sea mapping gathered by two submersibles—named Romeo and Juliet—during a six-week expedition to the North Atlantic wreck site in the summer of 2022, to map “every millimetre” of the wreckage as well as the entire three-mile debris field.

The British merchant steamship SS Mesaba sent a warning radio message to the Titanic on April 15, 1912 while crossing the Atlantic. The message was received by the Titanic – which was advertised as unsinkable – but did not reach the main control centre of the vessel.

Later that night, the supposedly unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage, taking 1,500 lives and becoming the world’s most infamous shipwreck.