Abandoned British Ship Found After 150 Years
August 7th, 2010 - 8:08 pm ICT by Pen Men At WorkAugust 7, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Archeologists from Canada have found a ship which had been abandoned 150 years ago. The ship is believed to have been looking for the North West passage when it had to been lost. The expedition had been led by Sir. John Franklin reported the leader of the archeology team.
Marc-Andre Bernier, head of the underwater archeology of Parks Canada said the HMS Investigator had been abandoned in 1853. It has been found after more than a century in the shallow waters of the Mercy Bay along the coast of the Banks Island in the Western Arctic region of Canada.
The condition of the ship is considered to be good and it is still standing upright in the water. The Investigator was in fact, one of the ships that sailed in order to find the ill fated HMS Erebus and Terror which were both commanded by Sir John Franklin when he began searching for the North West passage in 1845.
Jim Prentice, the Canadian Environment minister stated that the British Government has been informed about the discovery of one of their shipwrecks along with the bodies of three of the sailors.
The Parks Canada Team arrived at the area of Mercy Bay on June 22 this year. They detected the ship by means of a sonar scan from the side of an inflatable boat. The HMS Investigator does not appear to have moved much said Bernier.
The crew had abandoned the ship in 1853 after spending three freezing winters on board.
The icy waters prevailing in the McClure Strait have preserved the ship but the rigging and the masts have been sheared off completely.
Several artifacts belonging to the sailors have been discovered too while the graves of the three sailors who seem to have died of scurvy will be left untouched said the Archeology team.
Bernier further added that a remotely controlled video camera will be sent down to capture the pictures of the ship and they have no plans of bringing it up to the surface. All legal steps will be taken to ensure protection of the site, assured Bernier.
The team now has plans to search for both Erebus and Terror using the same technology.
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Tags: andre bernier, banks island, british ship, canada team, canadian environment minister, hms erebus, inflatable boat, jim prentice, legal steps, mcclure strait, men at work, mercy bay, north west passage, parks canada, pen men, scurvy, shallow waters, sir john franklin, underwater archeology, western arctic region