A team of divers has discovered the wreck of an American ship that sank off the south-central Alaska coast 139 years ago, according to media reports Wednesday.
The Torrent, carrying 155 passengers, struck a reef and sank near Port Graham in 1868. That was less than a year after the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia.
The men on board had been ordered to construct the first U.S. fort on the mainland of southcentral Alaska. The castaways camped on an adjacent beach for 18 days awaiting rescue.
A four-man dive team led by Steve Lloyd, owner of Anchorage's largest independent book store, made the discovery in July but kept it hidden at the request of state officials who wanted more time to document the site.
"It's a very significant find because it's right after the purchase, during the transition from Russian to American authority," said Judy Bittner, a state historic preservation officer. "It's the very beginning of federal presence in Alaska and the establishment of order."
Lloyd's team found an array of objects, from guns, cannons, shoes and plates, all hidden beneath the broad leaves of giant kelp beds. The main findings include two anchors, sections of hull and heavy bronze rudder hinges weighing about 45 kilograms.
The oldest known American shipwreck in Alaska is the Eclipse, a Yankee fur trading vessel, which sank in the Shumagin Islands on Aug. 11, 1807, south of the Alaska Peninsula. However, the ship remains have never been found till now.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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