Tag: shipwrecks

Two shipwrecks were discovered 2,300km off the coast of Western Australia during the initial search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The shipwrecks have been identified as 19th Century merchant sailing vessels carrying cargoes of coal. The Western Australian Museum analysed sonar and video data taken by the search vessels Fugro Equator and Havilah Harmony.

In April 2018, a joint US and Australian expedition has provided images of the 'HMAS AE1', Australia’s first submarine, which lies on the seafloor off the Duke of York Islands, in Papua New Guinea. The Royal Australian Navy’s submarine was lost at sea with all hands on 14 September 1914, and its fate had remained a mystery until discovery in December 2017.

Royal Boskalis Westminster issued a video depicting how it removed the wreck of the 'TS Taipei' offshore Shimen, in north of Taiwan. The container ship was en route en route from Taiwan’s Keelung to Taichung in March 2016, when it suffered an engine failure, ran aground, split at two and sank.

AGIA ZONI II has been now safely removed and transferred temporarily to nearby yard facilities, to carry out the necessary inspections. For the wreck removal operation, one floating ringer crane 1300 tons lifting capacity and another of 260 tons were used as well as salvage tugs, antipollution vessels and a specialized diving team.

IMO informed that the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks has been ratified by Croatia, bringing the total number of States to accede to the treaty to 37. The treaty, which entered into force in 2015, provides the legal basis for States to remove shipwrecks that may threaten the safety of lives or the marine environment.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency issued an updated notice, advising on the roles and responsibilities of the Receiver of Wreck and the law relating to wreck and salvage, as well as on the responsibilities and rights of wreck owners and salvors, and how to report wreck material.

On March 23, the government of South Korea lifted Sewol wreck, almost three years after it sank in waters off Jindo, South Jeolla Province, on April 2014. The 6,825-ton ferry, which had been lying at a depth of 44 meters, was lifted by two salvage barges.

The Maritime Authority of Cayman Islands has issued an updated guidance in order to give notice to the owners of Cayman Islands ships, and ships visiting Cayman Islands waters, of the requirements and obligations imposed under the Convention and to give details of the process the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands will be following for issuing the certificates required under the Convention.

Finland has become the 32nd State to ratify IMO’s Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks which provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may threaten the marine life and environment.

Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Team recently verified the identity of the wreck of HMS Terror, discovered off the shores of King William Island in Nunavut. This discovry will contribute to answering the enduring questions around the fascinating story of the lost Franklin Expedition.