Older Warships

Äpplet, port side by lower gundeck
Äpplet, port side by lower gundeck

Vasa's sister ship discovered

Launched in 1629, Applet (Apple) was built by the same shipbuilder as the famed 69-metre Vasa, which was carrying 64 cannons when it went down in a strait off the island of Vaxholm, just outside the capital, Stockholm. Vasa was meant to serve as a symbol of Sweden’s military might at the time but capsized after sailing just over 1,000 metres. It was salvaged in 1961 and is on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, one of Sweden’s most popular tourist spots.

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Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan ca.1894
Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan ca.1894

19th Century Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan identified

The shipwreck was first discovered in 2013. It was first code-named "Dandong No.1" and has been tentatively identified as the Cruiser Zhiyuan.

On 17 September 1894, during Battle of the Yalu River - the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, involving ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Chinese Beiyang Fleet - the Zhiyuan came under attack from Japanese cruisers. It was hit in the bow by a Japanese shell after which the Chinese cruiser rapidly sank with the loss of 245 officers and crewmen out of a complement of 252 complement.

HMS Tamar at Malta, ca 1882
HMS Tamar at Malta, ca 1882

Shipwreck in Hong Kong presumed to be famed warship HMS Tamar

HMS Tamar was a 4,600 tons displacement sail and steam-powered Royal Navy troopship launched in Britain in 1863. She served as a supply ship from 1897 to 1941 and gave her name to the shore station HMS Tamar in Hong Kong (1897 to 1997).

In 1897 Tamar was hulked as a base ship and used as the Hong Kong receiving ship and served as the 'name' ship for R.N. headquarters until it was replaced by the shore station, which was named HMS Tamar, after the ship.

No Secret for Victoria!

Victoria stands up vertically, with the bow rammed into the seabed.

What does a fish exporter from Norway, a Chief Information Officer and diving instructor living in the Netherlands, a renowned lawyer based in Cyprus, a Project Manager working in Sweden, and an expat French Technical Diving Instructor have in common?