After decades of searching, a team led by Brendon Baillod has located the wreckage of the “ghost ship” F.J. King in Lake Michigan. The three-masted cargo schooner sank in a storm in 1886 off Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. Using side-scan sonar, the team discovered the 144-foot vessel, which was carrying iron ore. Despite previous unsuccessful searches, the hull remains intact, and the discovery marks another shipwreck find for the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association.
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The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) and the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) have confirmed that a shipwreck is the remains of the HMS Endeavour. This confirmation comes after a final report detailing the identical timber scantlings and unique stem scarf, matching the Endeavour’s design, which was previously disputed. Captain James Cook’s first voyage, aboard the Endeavour, included mapping coastlines and a mission to observe the 1769 transit of Venus. The ship was later scuttled in an American harbor during the American Revolution and was located using 18th-century maps and sonar technology.
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The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea following an engine room explosion on December 23rd. Fourteen crew members were rescued, but two remain missing. The ship, previously sanctioned due to its owner’s ties to the Kremlin, was reportedly carrying port equipment and may have been part of a convoy evacuating Russian military assets from Syria. Ukraine’s military intelligence suggested the incident hampered Russia’s efforts to withdraw equipment from Syria, impacting their military presence in the region.
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John Q. Hosedrinker