Steamships & Cargo

The SS Nemesis disappeared during an intense storm in July 1904 as it was transporting coal from Newcastle to Melbourne, Australia.
The SS Nemesis disappeared during an intense storm in July 1904 as it was transporting coal from Newcastle to Melbourne, Australia.

SS Nemesis wreck uncovered: Solving a 120-year maritime mystery

The discovery, which resolved over a century of mystery surrounding the ship's location, occurred during a standard environmental survey.

The SS Nemesis, constructed in 1873, was a cargo steamer that encountered its premature demise during a ferocious storm in 1901. Since that time, the wreck's position had remained an enigmatic puzzle, baffling historians and the crew's descendants alike. Its unveiling not only concludes a historical narrative but also heralds a new chapter in Australia's extensive maritime legacy.

The SS Arlington
The SS Arlington, which sunk, along with its captain, during a wreck in 1940, was found on the floor of Lake Superior.

Wreck in Lake Superior identified as the Arlington

After finding a particularly deep anomaly in his search for shipwrecks in Lake Superior, shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain reached out to the Shipwreck Society to help identify it. This resulted in an expedition in 2023 that culminated in the positive identification of the anomaly being the SS Arlington, which sank in 1940.

Here is its story.

SS Express sank off Orkney in 1918 under circumstances which has been a topic of debate for over a century

The SS Express: A Century-Old Mystery Resolved Off Orkney

A team of British divers have identified the wreck of the SS Express, a ship that sank off Orkney in 1918, resulting in the loss of 13 lives. The vessel, which had been a vital lifeline connecting Orkney to mainland Scotland, met its unfortunate end following a collision with another ship, the HMS Grenville.

Possible illustration of the Satellite
Possible illustration of the Satellite

Discovery of 1879 Lake Superior shipwreck

The Satellite sank on 21 June 1879, according to the historical society, either as a consequence of a technical issue or because the boat collided with a floating log. The ship capsized, but no one perished.

In the summer of 2022, the society worked with Josh Gates of the Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown to produce a show about two French minesweepers that vanished on their maiden voyage in 1918.

The coastal freighter MV Blythe Star capsized off the coast of south-west Tasmania in October 1973.
The coastal freighter MV Blythe Star capsized off the coast of south-west Tasmania in October 1973.

Blythe Star shipwreck found off Tasmanian coast, ending 50-year mystery

The 44-metre motor vessel (MV) Blythe Star was a coastal freighter that disappeared off Tasmania nearly 50 years ago. On the 13 October 1973 while making a routine trip from Hobart to King Island, the ship began developing a list to the starboard before taking on water and capsizing.

John G McCullough Wreck

John G. McCullough wreck
Diver at the large right-hand boiler tilted to starboard, located at the back of the wreck

How did a late 19th-century ship from the Great Lakes region of the United States end up shipwrecked off the coast of France, in the Bay of Biscay? Pascal Henaff has the story and shares impressions from a dive on the wreck.

The steamship SS Pacific went down in November of 1875 with the loss of at least 325 passengers.
The steamship SS Pacific went down in November of 1875 with the loss of at least 275 passengers and crew.

Steamship lost in 1875 off Washington coast located

The SS Pacific was on its way from Puget Sound and Victoria to San Francisco when it collided with a big sailing ship in the dark off Cape Flattery on November 4, 1875 and sank in less than an hour. The Pacific had an estimated 275 passengers and crew aboard of which only two survived, making the sinking the most deadly maritime disaster in Northwest history. 

Only a handful of details of what happened came to light afterwards because there were only two survivors—one who floated around on debris for 40 hours, and another for 80 hours.

Vera Figner Wreck: 20th-Century Paddle Steamer in Russia's Silva River

Diver inspects the wreck of the Vera Figner wreck. Photo by Pavel Lapshin
Diver inspects the wreck of the Vera Figner wreck. Photo by Pavel Lapshin

Scuba diving is a diverse and breathtaking activity where, upon submerging, one can find oneself drifting along the waves of history. Such an opportunity presented itself to me during my recent visit with fellow divers in Perm, who discovered an interesting object under the ice in the Sylva River.