Nearly seven kilometres below the surface of water lies the wreck of a US navy destroyer escort that was sunk during WWII. Explorers have claimed it to be the deepest shipwreck ever identified.
The USS Destroyer Escort Samuel B Roberts (DE-413), also known as the Sammy B, went down during the Battle off Samar in the Philippines Sea in October 1944, according to a BBC report. It lies at a depth of 6,895 metres.
The previously known deepest wreck was found last year by Texan financier and founder of exploration company Caladan Oceanic Victor Vescovo at the depth of 6,469 metres. It was a shipwreck of the USS Johnston, a CNN report said.
Part of the dive on the Sammy B. It appears her bow hit the seafloor with some force, causing some buckling. Her stern also separated about 5 meters on impact, but the whole wreck was together. This small ship took on the finest of the Japanese Navy, fighting them to the end. pic.twitter.com/fvi6uB0xUQ
— Victor Vescovo (@VictorVescovo) June 24, 2022
The heroic tale of the Sammy B
Vescovo, who owns a deep-diving submersible, has also discovered the "Sammy B" in a battered but largely intact condition. The ship is known for a heroic battle against the Japanese.
In the Battle off Samar the US Navy defeated the larger Japanese fleet. It fought three Japanese battleships, including the Yamato, which is said to be the largest-ever constructed.
The Sammy B carried 224 crewmembers, 89 of whom were killed during the battle. The ship’s captain, Captain Robert W Copeland, was one of the survivors. The 120 survivors clung to life rafts for 50 hours awaiting rescue.
"The heroism of her captain and crew is legendary in the Navy, and it was a great honour to find her final resting place. I think it helps bring closure to the story of the ship, for the families of those who were lost and those who served on her. I think that having a ship vanish into the depths, never to be seen again, can leave those affiliated with the ship feeling a sense of emptiness,” Vescovo said, as quoted by CNN.
What is the current condition of the ship?
Vescovo, the pilot, and sonar specialist Jeremie Morizet, dove down to trace the wreck of the Sammy B from end to end.
It has broken into two pieces, lying about 10 metres from each other.
As per a BBC report, in the photos of the ship captured by Vescovo’s sub, the Limiting Factor, the hull structure, guns and torpedo tubes can be seen.
The pictures also show puncture holes from Japanese shells and there is evidence in the stern quarter of one massive hit.
From its crumpled appearance, it appears the vessel impacted the seafloor bow first.
To give a sense of how deep the ship’s resting place is, 98 per cent of the world's ocean bottom is less than 6,000m deep. Only a few places in the great tectonic trenches go beyond 6,000m.
It took Vescovo and a team from EYOS Expeditions eight days and a total of six dives looking for the ship.
The CNN report said that the previous records about the ship’s location were inaccurate, but the search was helped by a custom-built sidescan solar system.
During the dives, the team located debris from the Sammy B – a three-tube torpedo launcher. Of the three sunken ships, only the Sammy B had the launcher. They located the wreck on the final day.
Can there be other, deeper wrecks?
There are two other American ships that have yet to be found - the USS Gambier Bay (escort carrier) and the USS Hoel (destroyer)," said Kelvin Murray from EYOS, the company that organised and led Mr Vescovo's expedition, as cited by the BBC.
The team has already been to deeper points to over 7,000 metres looking for the Gambier Bay, but couldn’t find it. However, it is possible that the shipwreck may have sunk to a deeper point.
The custom-built sidescan sonar, Deep Ocean Search, has been tested to 11,000 metres, or full ocean depth. Such sonar systems normally go up to the depth of 6,000 metres. Voscovo’s company, the Caladan Oceanic, plans to take it right to the bottom of the ocean next month.
With inputs from agencies
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