Education Theme: Maritime Heritage

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Shakedown and Sea Trials 2019: An Unexpected Shipwreck Discovery (2019)

On May 12, 2019, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer set sail for a 13-day shakedown and sea-trial expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. On May 16, while conducting an “engineering dive” to test new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipment, the team made an unexpected—and exciting—discovery: the wreck of what is likely a mid-19th century wooden sailing vessel.

Kiska: Alaska's Underwater Battlefield (2018)

The Aleutian campaign was the sole World War II campaign fought on North American soil, and Kiska Island, along with Attu Island to the west, are the only United States territories occupied by foreign forces in the last 200 years. While the terrestrial battlefield is well documented, the maritime component remains largely unexplored. This team built on existing archaeological and historical data to explore one of the least studied, yet most significant sites of World War II.

Windows to the Deep 2018: Exploration of the Southeast U.S. Continental Margin (2018)

NOAA and partners conducted an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly understood deepwater areas of the Southeastern United States.

Peleliu’s Forgotten World War II Battlefield (2018)

At 0800 on September 15, 1944, the first waves of men in 73 amphibious tractors started for the beaches of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands of the western Pacific. This project was the first of its kind in Peleliu to explore the landing beaches and fringing reef by conducting a comprehensive, systematic remote sensing search for the material remains from this forgotten battlefield.

Gulf of Mexico 2017

From November 29 through December 21, 2017, a team of scientists and technicians, both at-sea and shore-based, conducted exploratory investigations into the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and associated marine communities in the Gulf of Mexico basin.

Exploring the Sunken Heritage of Midway Atoll: Honoring the Legacy of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway 2017

From May 2 - May 16, scientists explored sunken aircraft associated with the Battle of Midway, adding an important maritime heritage component to our understanding of the broader history of World War II in the Pacific. This year is the 75th anniversary of the battle, and this project aims to raise awareness and honor the legacy of the brave men who helped to turn the tide in the Pacific during the course of the Battle of Midway.

Battle of the Atlantic: Archaeology of an Underwater World War II Battlefield (2016)

This project aimed to characterize the remains of a World War II naval battlefield off the coast of North Carolina for its historical and ecological importance.

Citizen Exploration: Return to the SS Tahoe (2016)

On June 7-8, 2016, an expedition team used OpenROV submersibles to explore the SS Tahoe shipwreck in Lake Tahoe and engage virtual citizen explorers online.

Search for the Lost Whaling Fleets of the Western Arctic (2015)

In August 2015, a team headed to the nearshore waters of the Chukchi Sea to comprehensively map a particularly important place in this Western Arctic landscape where, in 1871 and 1876, around 50 whaling ships were abandoned and lost.

Search for the Lost French Fleet of 1565 (2014)

During the late summer of 2014, a team of maritime archaeologists from the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program embarked on a mission to discover the lost French Fleet of 1565 off the coast of Florida.

Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico 2014

A team of scientists and technicians conducted exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the third leg of a 59-day expedition focused on acquiring data on priority exploration areas identified by the ocean management and science communities.

Monterrey Shipwreck Investigation 2013

In 2013, the Ocean Exploration Trust's Exploration Vessel Nautilus returned to the Gulf of Mexico to investigate an early 19th century wooden shipwreck first explored by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in 2012.

Gulf of Mexico 2012

A team of scientists and technicians conducted exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The 56-day expedition was divided into three 'legs.'

Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Technology and the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships

In August 2010, a team lead by members from Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary set out to discover new shipwrecks sites in Lake Huron using cutting-edge sonar mounted on a free-swimming autonomous underwater vehicle.

Lophelia II 2009 - Deepwater Coral Expedition: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks

During the third cruise of this four-year project, a team explored new areas of the Gulf of Mexico in search of coral communities with the goal of developing tools to better predict the occurrence of corals and to understand why they occur where they do.

NOAA's Ocean Explorer Titanic Collection (2004)

NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted two field expeditions to explore the RMS Titanic, collecting and disseminating from the sunken ship. This page provides access to content from the two missions.

Steamship Portland 2003

On Nov. 26, 1898, the steamship Portland left India Wharf in Boston for Portland, Maine, on a regularly scheduled run; she never made it to port. During this 2003 expedition, a team conducted the first surveys of the Portland since its location was confirmed in within NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Massachusetts coast.

Monitor Expedition (2002)

The 140-year-old USS Monitor gun turret was recovered from the bottom of NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of North Carolina during this 41-day expedition that brought the Civil War relic to the museum for further excavation and conservation.

Preserving the USS Monitor (2001)

The USS Monitor, launched early in the American Civil War, has been called the U.S. Navy’s first modern warship. In 1975, her sunken and rusting hull became America’s first national marine sanctuary. These pages chronicle a five-month effort by Navy divers to recover the Monitor’s innovative steam engine and a section of her hull.