In 1625, Sweden’s King Gustav II Adolf ordered four ships—large regal ships—to crown the fleet. The four ships were Vasa, Äpplet, Scepter and Svärdet.
The Earl of Abergavenny was launched in 1796 in Northfleet, Kent and is rare as one of only 36 ships of 1460 tons that formed a special class of the Company’s merchant fleet. It was an early example of the changing technologies in ship building of the time, incorporating the use of iron in its construction.
The Margaret A. Muir was built in 1872 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Constructed for Captain David Muir by the Hanson & Scove shipyard, the 130ft, three-masted schooner was designed primarily for the Great Lakes grain trade, although it carried various other cargoes throughout its 21-year career.
The Baltictech diving team found the shipwreck, estimated to be around 175 years old, about 58 meters (190 feet) deep off the Swedish coast. Among the relics, divers discovered over 100 bottles of champagne, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, dark waters of the Baltic.
While the ship was found around 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the Swedish island of Öland, however, it’s not clear where it was heading to. The team believes the ship was en route to Russia, where the aristocracy prized champagne.
In a historic maritime discovery, the wreck of the Quest, the ship used by famed explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his last expedition, has been found off the coast of Newfoundland. This discovery, confirmed by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), provides a significant piece of the puzzle in understanding Shackleton’s enduring legacy in polar exploration.
Maritime historians and archaeologists, following years of meticulous research and underwater exploration, have confirmed the identity of the HMS Tyger. The ship, originally launched in 1741, played a pivotal role in British naval operations before succumbing to a fiery end in 1742.
Located in the Åland Archipelago of the Baltic Sea is the wreck of the late 19th-century, German-made, three-masted, iron-hulled barque named Plus, which was lost on a stormy night in 1933. Andrea Murdock Alpini describes his journey there and his dives on this wreck.
In a pivotal legal decision, the Court of Appeal in Sweden has revised the sentences of four men convicted in 2022 for offences against Sweden's heritage laws. These individuals were found guilty of plundering several wrecks off the coast of Öland, challenging the preservation of national heritage.
From 2013 to 2020, the convicted men retrieved a multitude of artefacts from shipwrecks near Öland, using some to adorn their homes. Dive logbook entries suggest that their activities may have begun as early as 1987.
(TOP BANNER IMAGE: Samuel Scott / Wikimedia / public domain)
The San José, a three-decked galleon approximately 150ft long and armed with 64 guns, sank during a battle with British ships in 1708. It is believed to contain 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo from Spanish colonies. Researchers have identified bronze cannons, ceramic and porcelain vases, and personal weapons among the artefacts, confirming the wreck’s identity.
Hidden beneath the serene waters of The Bahamas lay the remnants of approximately 5,000 shipwrecks, entombed for centuries. These relics are finally seeing the light of day, thanks to an innovative project called The Bahamas Lost Ships Project, kickstarted in 2023 by Allen Exploration and In Search of Shipwrecks (ISOS).
The project has shed light on the maritime heritage of The Bahamas, particularly along the eastern flank of the Straits of Florida, a maritime corridor frequented since the 15th century.
