MARITIME NEWS

Selected info of possible interest to Model Ship builders.

The Erebus has been found in Arctic Waters.  It was lost in the ill-fated Franklin expedition of 1845, an effort to find the fabled northwest passage.  Artifacts are being recovered by a Canadian project.     The ship was a converted Bomb Ketch with a steam engine fitted. The ship survived an expedition to Antarctica, but the iron-reinforced hull was no match for the Canadian Arctic.  This is the only known semi-intact wreck of a Bomb Ketch, and may result in a model kit of the ship produced in the future.

The CSS Georgia is being excavated by the US Navy.  The Confederate Ironclad was scutled in 1864 as Gen Sherman's forces approached Savanna, Georgia.  Some of the wreck was salvaged after the Civil War but numerous artifacts remained and have been recovered in this latest recovery effort. Contract divers are out on the site every day, weather permitting, not more than a couple miles east of the city's famous River Street and waterfront.

The $15 million removal of the CSS Georgia is necessary for the state and federal harbor deepening project, which will see the channel go from 42 to a uniform 47 feet so massive cargo container ships can use the port without relying on the tide.

The Nuestra Señora de Encarnación, was found off a river on the coast of Panama.  The ship went down in a storm in 1681 after arriving from Spain.  The wreck was undisturbed in shallow water and will be investigated by the University of Texas.  This may be the best preserved Spanish galleon or ship of that era and the conditions of the wreck, with wood frames surviving and visible, may provide for new knowledge of ship dimensions of that timeframe.    Watch for archeological reports on this ship in the future.