According to archeological reports and stories from veteran seafarers, there are thousands of interesting shipwrecks that are spread out all over the world. A shipwreck refers to the remains of a ship that has wrecked. Most shipwrecks are found at the bottom of the ocean or beached on land.
For millions of years, man has always been fascinated by the ocean as a result of the infinite adventurous possibilities that the ocean presents the exploratory man. The sea has never been friendly to voyagers and as a result, traces of ships that once transported precious cargo, explorers, and merchants can still be found frozen in time.
According to the United Nations, there are more than 3 million shipwrecks on the bottom of the ocean. Shipwrecks are not only interesting because they reveal elements of forgotten history, but also because they are of interest to treasure hunters, divers, and underwater historians. If you are looking for a topic of conversation that can wow your colleagues at that next office meeting or office party, here are some of the world’s most interesting shipwrecks:
The Yongala Shipwreck
The Yongala Shipwreck can be found at The Great Barrier Reef, Australia, which is one of the most popular diving sites in the world. The S.S. Yongala sank in a cyclone over 100 years ago taking the lives of all 121 individuals on-board. Despite all the years that have passed by since it wrecked, the S.S. Yongala is astoundingly still fresh-looking.
The Titanic Shipwreck
The Titanic is one of the most well-known shipwrecks of all time. When it was first introduced to the public, The Titanic was christened as the unsinkable ship. It took off on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, only to strike an iceberg that caused its eventual accident. The Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic 5 days later killing over 1,500 individuals out of the 2, 227 that were on board. The wreck of the ship was discovered in 1985 in the North Atlantic Ocean and artifacts such as clothes, wallets, jewelry and more were discovered and preserved by historians.
The SS President Coolidge Shipwreck
The SS President Coolidge was advertised as one of the most expensive and luxurious ocean liners when it was first launched. When the Second World War began, the SS President Coolidge was converted into a warship. Unfortunately, while transporting troops in 1941 at the Espiritu Santo Harbor, it hit two mines that caused its explosion. Most of the crew on board made it to the beach to safety but two individuals lost their lives as a result of the accident.
The American Star shipwreck
The American Star wrecked in the Canary Island on Fuerteventura on 18 January 1994. It wrecked as a result of a severe storm that caused the ship to split into two halves. Most of the remains of the ship had already completely submerged below the surface by 2012.
S.S. Thistlegorm shipwreck
The S.S. Thistlegorm was a British merchant ship that sunk in 1941 while transporting ammunition to Alexandra. The wreck was caused by an explosion of a German bomb in the Red Sea just off the coast of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Some of the ammunition on board such as guns and torpedos, as well as the military vehicles on board are very well preserved.
The Defiance shipwreck
The Defiance shipwreck is situated in Lake Huron, which has some of the most well preserved sunken vessels in the world. Some of the shipwrecks contained in Lake Huron are very old but they are still intact thanks to the cold temperatures and the freshwater conditions of the lake.
The vasa shipwreck
The Vasa is still considered as one of the most exquisite shipwrecks in the world. It was found in the Baltic Sea, and it was one of the many royal warships in Sweden. Even after remaining for almost 350 years in the bottom of the Sea, the Vasa was so well preserved at the time of discovery that the Swedish government was able to salvage and refurbish the wreck. Today, thousands of people visit the salvage in the Vasa Museum to see the wreck for themselves.
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