Modern Mysteries

Long lost Arctic ship found after 160 years

By T.K. Randall
September 14, 2014 ·  14 comments

An artist's impression of the voyage. Image Credit: John William Carmichael When Sir John Franklin set off on his historic voyage of exploration over 160 years ago he had been hoping to chart the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic, but when both his ships and his entire crew of 129 disappeared without a trace his fate became one of the greatest mysteries of the age.

Now following more than 5 years of searching by the Canadian government, the final resting place of one of Franklin's two ships has finally been discovered on the sea floor.

"I am delighted to announce that this year's Victoria Strait expedition has solved one of Canada's greatest mysteries, with the discovery of one of the two ships belonging to the Franklin Expedition," said Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper.The wreck was found in the waters of the Victoria Strait off the coast of King William Island.

Historians believe that Franklin's expedition had ran in to trouble when the ships became stuck in thick ice, resulting in the crew perishing from starvation and hypothermia.

"Finding the first vessel will no doubt provide the momentum - or wind in our sails - necessary to locate its sister ship and find out even more about what happened to the Franklin Expedition's crew," said Harper.

Source: BBC News | Comments (14)

Tags: Sir John Franklin, Arctic, Ship