Shipwreck mystery solved as lost vessel resurfaces 140 years after tragic sinking
Researchers have discovered a vessel that sank over 140 years ago — closing the book on one of the UK's most enduring maritime mysteries. Footage of the long-lost wreckage is currently making waves online.
The historic steamer, dubbed the SS Nantes, had sunk in 1888 after colliding with a German boat, resulting in the deaths of most of the crew, Jam Press reported.
The freighter then lay undiscovered for nearly a century and a half until 2024, when diver and explorer Dominic Robinson identified the shipwreck by dinnerware he found at the wreck site.
'Even though the wreck had been dived before, it was never identified and this small piece of broken plate allowed us to do exactly that,' the 50-year-old former army officer, who'd been diving for 35 years, told Jam Press.
Meanwhile, maritime history expert Dr. Harry Bennett dubbed the recovery the 'underwater archaeological equivalent of a needle in a haystack,' the BBC reported.
'I think the local dive team are to be congratulated on a splendid piece of detective work which reveals this maritime disaster,' said the professor, who teaches at the University of Plymouth.
Built in 1874, the SS Nantes was a cargo ship operated by the Cunard Steamship Company.
The 14-year-old vessel was traveling from Liverpool, UK, to Le Havre, France, with a load of coal in tow when it was struck by the German sailing vessel Theodor Ruger, which tore a 'big hole in its side,' Bennett recounted to CNN.
'For several hours, the crew tried to save their ship using all manner of materials to try and fill the hole, including mattresses,' he recalled. 'But eventually they lose that fight and the ship goes down very rapidly.'
Bennett said that the SS Nantes 'drifted for several hours, before it finally made its way to the bottom, sadly, with many of its crewmen on board.'
Their escape efforts were reportedly hindered by the fact that the lifeboats were damaged in the collision. 'There were some 23-odd fatalities,' Bennett told BBC. 'There were three survivors.'
Meanwhile, corpses from the wreckage washed ashore in Cornwall, where locals were confronted by the horrific sight of bodies intermingled with pieces of the SS Nantes.
Unfortunately, after plunging to the bottom of the ocean, the ship was 'essentially lost' as it was a time period with 'no satellite navigation,' per Dr. Bennett.
It wasn't until 2024 that the local dive team identified the sunken vessel.
Johnson had caught wind of the unidentified wreck from the UK Hydrographic Office and decided to investigate himself.
Toward the end of a mostly fruitless dive, the wreck-plorer saw the broken plate, which provided a major clue as to the vessel's identity.
'I decided to bring it up to the surface [and] we found that [it] had the Cunard Steamship crest on it,' recalled Jonhson. 'It was then bingo, we've found it.'
Researchers also identified the sunken ship by the build, technology on board, and dimensions of the vessel — which measured around 240 feet long.
After examining the crews' footage and methodology, Dr. Bennett declared that 'beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt, this is the SS Nantes.'
While the sinking of the SS Nantes was an awful tragedy, Robinson hopes that the discovery at least provides a bit of closure to the heartwrenching saga.
'One of the things I like to think is by solving mysteries and telling those stories, I'm ensuring that those people aren't forgotten,' he said.
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