During the final dive of the 2021 ROV Shakedown, we explored the wreck of Humaitá (ex-USS Muskallunge), an American submarine that served in two navies between 1942 and 1968 (U.S. and Brazilian). Sunk during a live-fire target exercise off Long Island, New York, in 1968, remains of the submarine serve as habitat for bubblegum corals (Paragorgia sp.) and other marine animals. The remains are protected from unauthorized disturbance by federal law.
Remembered by the veterans who served and their families, and by naval historians, Muskallunge was largely forgotten by the public. While visitors to museums throughout the country can tour examples of its class of submarine in many sites around the country, the largest museum of lost ships is the sea. And this final dive of the expedition provided an excellent opportunity to visit one of the ocean’s millions of shipwrecks up-close, for the first time.
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Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 ROV Shakedown.