Shipwrecks Sub Sea Research

The Jolly Roger will tell you all the scuttlebutt here! Check back often!

June 16th, 2008

World War II - New England

THE HUNT FOR A GERMAN U-BOAT

"OPERATION CA-35" is a joint project of discovery conducted by Trident Research & Recovery, Inc. of Framingham, Massachusetts and Sub-Sea Research, LLC. of Portland, Maine. It is much more than just a marine salvage operation. Indeed, it is an attempt to discover the facts surrounding the sinking of a legendary German U-Boat off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in August of 1944, and to uncover the reasons for its secrecy for well over fifty years. Sub Sea Research is about to begin filming for this and other World War II losses along the New England coast. An extraordinary documentary to uncover secrets still hidden today!
Blimp

"The Naval Airship K-25 hovering over the downed K-14 off Maine on 3 July, 1944, one month prior to her ordeal off Cape Cod."

Check out our photo show of Haiti, we think you'll like it!
HAITI

M/V Son Worshipper in Portland Harbor, Maine
August 8th 2007

Two targets have been located during our last survey. Excavation will begin this week.

M/V Son Worshipper
June 19,2007

M/V Son Worshipper

The latest addition will be arriving in Portland Harbor this week (6/22/07) and will have an open house to inform the public how undersea operations work. Advanced technology and equipment will also be displayed. This ship will continue operations in the next few weeks. Please contact us for further info.

News Release

Sub Sea is presently working two different projects, one in the Caribbean and one in the U.S. Both projects are showing positive results. "Any day now!" is what the crew is saying.....

A Short Radio Documentary - Click here
Produced by the Salt Institute

Well done Odyssey !!!
They just recovered $500 MILLION IN SUNKEN TREASURE.

A Murder in Haiti
Click to read this sad but horrifing story

Latest on Boat sinking

Click to see and read about this avoidable sinking

BREAKING NEWS!!!! December 9-10

BOAT SINKS AFTER FIRE

A 65-foot vessel tied up at a pier at 257 Front Street in South Portland sunk Saturday morning after catching fire around 10:00pm Friday night. South Portland Fire along with the Coast Guard responded to the scene to find heavy fire coming from underneath the "Sub Sea Surveyor".
Colder temperatures, heavy icing and a long pier made the fire difficult to put out.
The Coast Guard, The Portland Fire Department and The Maine Department of Environmental Protection also pitched in.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital with a knee injury.
LINK TO NEWS VIDEO
WCSH6 NEWS

bad

Talk about a bad day! I got the call around 10:30 pm from the marina where Sub Sea Surveyor was docked. There was a fire!! I headed out the door as fast as I could, but forgetting it was 13 degrees out. It took about 30 minutes to reach the dock from my house. When I arrived there were several fire trucks from the South Portland Fire Department, Coast Guard, Maine DEP, news teams, police as well as others. As I headed to the boat down the long icy pier I could see the Portland Fire boat was tied up beside Surveyor. It was extremely icy on the pier. My partner John was there and Brian the engineer arrived soon after. There were about a dozen firemen on the boat with hoses putting out the fire. They used both water and foam. There was a bad list in the vessel telling us that the boat needed to be pumped out before she sunk. The Maine DEP told the fire department to pump it out before it sunk and caused a much bigger problem. The Coast Guard brought pumps from the CG Station just a few docks down. The crew on the Portland Fire boat also told them to pump it out to prevent a much bigger problem. The wind was blowing making it much colder than I could stand dressed the way I was. The Fire department would not let us board the boat. They told us they had it under control and would take care of everything. The pumps were sitting on the dock waiting to be used. Brian stayed and John and I left around 1:30 - 2 am. I returned first thing the next morning, and a Coast Guard crew pulled up behind me stating they were there to pick up the pumps. As I walked down the pier I noticed right away the boat was very low in the water. When I got to the boat I could see it would not be long before she sunk if she was not pumped. I pleaded with the Coast Guard crew to use their pumps to stop her from sinking. They said they were only here to pick up the pumps. At this time, as well as when the firemen were aboard, she should have been pumped out. It wasn't, the pumps were never removed from their containers and I watched the ship go under with a very sick feeling in my gut. The pumps were there, the fire department was there, the Coast Guard was there, why didn't they use the pumps like they said they would? Why did the pumps just sit on the dock until the ship sank causing a much bigger problem? They would not let us board the boat, they said they had it under control. Now this.

November 27, 2006

Ah, it's been awhile since we did an update! We've been in Haiti these last few months and haven't had access to the internet as much as we would have liked. There is so much we have to report on, but it will have to wait a bit till we are able to finish our reports. We will be updating again real soon. We are waiting on Haitian government officials to get back to us on our new and updated contract.

August 11, 2006

It's been one week since my meeting with the new Minister of Finance of Haiti, the Honorable Daniel Dorsainvil at his office in Port-au-Prince. All went as expected, I presented him with a full survey report of all the areas we have surveyed thus far in Haiti. The report also included future plans to develop a shipwreck and marine institute designed to teach, display and preserve as well as to develop Haiti's marine resources. Mr. Dorsainvil has the job of planning for Haiti's future as well as the present, and we both agreed that Haiti's marine resources are a vital part of both the present and future and has to be approached in a very controlled manor. Protect and preserve for future generations. Sub Sea Research supports Mr. Dorsainvil in his views. We look forward to a long and lasting relationship with the country of Haiti.

A letter to the New Minister of Finance.

June 28, 2006

Honorable Daniel Dorsainvil
Minister of the Economy & Finance
Government of Haiti
Port-au-Prince Haiti

Dear Sir,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. My name is Greg Brooks and I am the senior partner of Sub Sea Research LLC, Portland Maine. I look forward to personally meeting you upon my next trip to Haiti in the very near future. I would also add that the people of Haiti hold a special place in my heart.

I’m sure you are aware of Sub Sea Research by this time, either through Mr. Bazin, Haitian television, radio, US Embassy or other means.

Sub Sea Research has invested time as well as money in what it believes will be an outstanding opportunity for Haiti as well as us. Please realize we put the people of Haiti and their marine environment as first priority. Hundreds if not thousands of ships were attracted to the multitude of naturally protected deep bays and harbors surrounding Haiti -which lies in the middle of one of the most popular Dutch West Indies Trade Routes for the Ships of Discovery and Spanish Main. It was also one of the strongholds of Buccaneers, Privateers and Freebooters throughout this period - and therefore illustrates the incredible wealth of Sea faring history lying in repose off Haiti's shores.

Sub Sea Research also hopes to strike a chord with people who are looking to add value to their lives and instill adventure in their travels by volunteering their time and talents and joining Sub Sea’s new “Diving into History” program. This is currently being developed to allow students and travelers and divers the opportunity to experience a once in a lifetime adventure, while aiding our efforts to identify, locate and recover Haiti’s incredibly rich and undetected Maritime Heritage and Shipwreck history.

A maritime museum is planned in Haiti and Maine to display the recovered artifacts and to bring Haiti’s and Maine’s maritime past to the present.

Since arriving in Haiti surveys have been done on miles of coastline and many potentially significant targets have been found. Some of our research indicates these vessels could hold hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of low historical value artifacts such as coins, bullion and precious gems. That multiplied by the many wrecks researched so far would boost the Haitian economy and save its undersea marine heritage.

US Senator Susan Collins has aided us in our correspondence with Mr. Bazin, as well as the US Embassy through David Reimer. Our state Governor, John Baldacci has endorsed our goals stating that a joint project such as this will have many rewards for both the people of Haiti as well as the people of the United States.

Our vessel, M/V Diamond is still on station and has been for over three months in Haiti, waiting, and most importantly, guarding sites in the area against looters who wish to steal from Haiti. We are determined to do a good job, not to get all we can and leave. We have made a long term “commitment” to Haiti and to its people.

I would like to request a meeting with you to discuss this very important matter as soon as possible. I’m sure that all your questions can be answered and we can come to an understanding. I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely Yours,

Greg Brooks
Co-Manager
Sub Sea Research LLC

June 12, 2006

As the M/V diamond sits waiting for the New Government to give us permission to "go to work" I'll give you an update on what has happened since we arrived.
When we arrived in Haiti in February we fully expected to begin operations to start recovering our targeted site. (The site has produced samples of artifacts dating from the mid 1500's and were turned over to the Haitian Government via the office of the Minister of Finance)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Who are the real pirates today? Do they exist? Aye matey, they do.

The ship was finally ready after two weeks of repairs, the engines fixed, water maker repaired, supplies loaded. All that was needed now was a break in the weather to depart to the southern coast of Haiti and continue operations. The crew was excited about this trip, more so than the last five trips. After years of researching and searching, Sub Sea Research had located a ship from the mid 1500’s with what seemed like rare Inca treasure aboard. All the preliminary work had been done: research, video, sampling of artifacts had been recovered and turned over to the government as per their contract. Years of work were about to finally pay off. Then the letter came. The government of Haiti had stopped all underwater operations to get a “better understanding on their sub-aquatic program”, and would not allow Sub Sea's ship to return. But, we were already there. Recently Sub Sea Research became aware of looting of Haiti’s underwater marine resources. We then contacted one of our employees who work’s on the ship while we are in Haiti, and instructed him to contact the police and to go out to the vessel in question and search same for stolen artifacts. The police apparently ran them off. Sub Sea was also informed that another ship retrieved 4-5 bronze cannons from one of their located sites, and headed off to Panama. This has yet to be confirmed, but was stated on Haitian News. Sub Sea is totally against looting or stealing of any kind what so ever. Our goal is to research, recover, conserve and display high value historical artifacts. The looting has to stop. Haiti should not be a victim of unscrupulous pirates. It has also come to our attention that a new company called Caribbean Marine has accused us of “stealing” shipwreck sites that they say they found. This seems to be part of the confusion that has caused the government’s reply. Sub Sea must ask, how can anything be “stolen” if it’s in their contracted area? Caribbean Marine was not in the salvage business until meeting with reps from Sub Sea Research, where they read Sub Sea's documentation. Also, it seems that their legal counsel is the counsel Sub Sea hired to prepare their contract with the government. This seems to be illegal and unethical. Added to that, the representative for the Ministry of Finances was aboard Sub Sea's vessel when they surveyed several sites on the south coast. Reports were handed over to the government representative and judges were hired to validate Sub Sea's findings as they happened. Now Sub Sea finds out that the representative is associated and partnered with Caribbean Marine and Twin Star Marine and is trying to get Sub Sea and their contract voided. This too seems illegal and unethical. It seems that Caribbean Marine is working with a group from Massachusetts who also took items from Sub Sea's contracted site. Have the silver bars and coins Sub Sea located have anything to do with this? The government still has them and per contract they should have been returned to Sub Sea, which they have not!
It seems as if greed has taken its course again. Will the people of Haiti suffer even longer? A Maritime Institute and educational program was planned with the profits received from any sales of low historical value artifacts from recovered shipwrecks. Will it now go into the hands of modern day pirates? Sub Sea Research prays not.
The new government is just about in place in Haiti, and as our vessel waits for the word, either go to work, or leave, we pray that the new government has the people of Haiti as first priority. Will they do the right thing? Or let the pirates continue?

April 1, 2006

Important Update
Upon arriving in Haiti aboard the M/V Diamond Feb 26th, we were amazed to find out that someone else had been to our contracted sites and recovered items from them. We started an investigation immediately. We talked to local business owners, local fisherman as well as a few people that helped the culprits "steal" items from our sites! Not only steal, but they also dragged a small cannon and barrel of encrusted tacks ashore where they removed some of the encrustation to see if they had any real "goodies". The cannon was iron, and now it is on land with no conservation of any sort, and it is falling apart, completely destroyed. The barrel of encrusted tacks had been smashed with a hammer to see what was inside, now left behind on land to decay along with the small cannon. Why! Is this the right way to recover artifacts? In someone else's contracted area? I think not! Photos were turned over to us by one of the divers with this group, showing the people who were in our contracted area, magging, diving and removing artifacts. They were Americans, so a complaint was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince as well as the Haitian Government. We will not tolerate anyone destroying history, or stealing from our sites. This is not the way of professionals. Follow this link to the photos and to see the people responsible! LINK

Plus- We found some very exciting artifacts! More soon

February 4, 2006

Sub Sea Research has just received their 2006 permit from the FKNMS. Heading out soon.

There's been a little glitch with the operations in Haiti. At present we are awaiting the election results coming up Feb. 7th. and soon after will return and begin salvage operations on the 1500's wreck located on one of the many surveys we did there. There will be a new government there to work with and we look forward to developing a long term relationship with them.

December 11th 2005

With the formation of tropical storms Delta and Epsilon, the record for number of named storms in the Atlantic is now at 26, which shatters the previous mark of 21 set back in 1933. Although hurricane season officially ends on November 30, storms can form in December although they are relatively rare.

The 2005 Hurricane Season will go down in the meteorological history books as having the most named tropical cyclones in known history. Tropical depression number 25 formed on October 22 and strengthened into the twenty-second named tropical storm of the year. Never before has there been 22 named tropical cyclones. Can you imagine how that impeded our work? You can find out about all of them at NASA.

Haiti is our target for early January, work will begin on several sites located on our last visit. We are planning to construct a small conservation lab and museum to help attract people to enjoy Haiti's rich underwater marine resources. We have lots of plans to help educate the locals on their marine environment and help teach the children how to protect the reefs that surround Haiti. Any ideas? Want to help? Let us know.

Katrina Relief Update

Sept 12th , 2005

SEA RELIEF

Sub Sea Research is pulling it's 102' vessel M/V Diamond off operations to head up a flotilla of vessels heading to the gulf. As you are all aware, hurricane Katrina has devastated that area.
Most of the aid and resources have been targeted for the bigger cities. The small fishing towns of Mississippi and Louisiana have not gotten any aid as yet, and it could be months until they do. The roads into these places are gone. The only way to bring in aid is by helicopter or ship. These people make their livings on the sea, and it's gone. The shrimp boats are either sunk or have been blown inland.

We are heading up a flotilla of up to 30 vessels that will carry desperately needed food, ice, and survival goods to some of these towns. We are planning a departure this week! Our ship is in Key West and we will join the flotilla in Naples, Florida.

We need your help! We are donating our resources and whatever else we can, as well as others in this fleet. Some supplies are also being donated. What we need is cash contributions for supplies and fuel. This is a desperate plea, people are starving and we can do something about it! Over 30 vessels can carry tons of food and supplies. But, we must act fast! Will you help!

All donations will be used strictly for this relief effort. We need to help! We are contacting the local news stations so they can inform the public also.

Please mail your donations to our office at:

Sub Sea Research
440 Commercial St.
Portland Maine 04101
E-Mail

Or, Drop it off at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries
485 Payne Rd
Scarborough Maine 04074

Mark it Sea Relief.

Thank you for your support,
The Sub Sea Research Team
The La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery

Tribute to Katrina Victims

June 12th, 2005

Haiti-Artifacts recovered for identification on a site located within our survey zone appear to be from the mid 1500's. A silver "Tumbaga Bar", silver coins, slave beads, bronze dividers and pottery shards all appear to to come from this era. Also located onsite were several cannon's and the ships anchor along with the main ballast pile. Plans for excavation in the next few weeks are now going forward. The artifacts were turned over to the Haitian government and we are awaiting the transport to the US for further analyses and conservation. The evidence shows this ship was loaded and on it's return voyage.

A site survey also has produced evidence of what may be Henry Morgan's (The infamous pirate) flagship the "Oxford" within our survey zone. At present we are conducting further investigations to verify our findings.

Sub Sea has donated material, labor and money to construct a dock on Ile a Vache on Haiti's southern coast to help the local population better serve the island. This will help in getting food and supplies to the island a much easier task than in the past. Construction begins this week.

April 26th, 2005

Florida - Operations will commence once again on our deepwater sites in the next two weeks. The ROV will be deployed to video tape the wreckage and gather further evidence to help with the identification process. The "Sub Sea Surveyor" will be utilized for the survey vessel. The salvage plan for the "Dragonfly Site" is almost ready and soon our team will start excavation and conservation of the artifacts aboard her. All artifacts will be processed and displayed through the "Shipwreck MuSEArium of the America's" in Portland Maine.

Haiti - The M/V Diamond was loaded with humanitarian aid for the return trip to the south coast of Haiti. Several tons of food and clothes were the bulk of the cargo onboard. This aid will be distributed to the people through missionary's familiar with the needs of the local people. We hope to continue bringing very needed aid to the people of Haiti as we continue to develop a joint relationship to discover their lost marine heritage. We have surveyed many sites along the south coast and have some fantastic video of some of them. This video along with the survey data is in the analysis process. Sub Sea is extremely excited over the find of a very famous vessel (soon to be announced) as artifact identification will verify. This could be the find of the century!!

March 4th, 2005

As everyone is aware the season of 2004 was very weather intensive, especially the weather conditions in deep water. But putting that aside, as part of the Admiralty filing, survey work had to be completed on a rather large area. That has been completed and turned over to the Federal Admiralty courts as well as the FKNMS. Now comes the 390 plus targets located in that survey area. That is, side scan and magnetometer targets. The next phase, ROV videotography will begin within the next week or two on these targets, and that information will be analyzed and cataloged for archaeological purposes. Then the next required permit will be applied for. To accomplish the tasks at hand and follow the FKNMS and Federal guidelines in the proper format, as well as the legal hurdles, is a very time consuming proposition. As most of you are aware, or not, shipwreck research and recovery has become a very controversial occupation. We at SSR are in the business to recover history. So, that being said, there are a lot of things we have to do besides being at sea, and it all takes time. Rest assured, progress is being made. As operations progress, further updates will be forth coming.

Haiti- The crew is doing fantastic! They have located many great sites during their initial survey, and are continuing the survey phase along the southern coast. The targets appear to be from the 1600's, but further investigation will verify that fact. Stay tuned for a special announcement!

SSR is looking for a few good people to join our team. If you think you have what it takes, contact us today.

February 1st 2005

The M/V Diamond and crew are anchored off the so. Coast of Haiti waiting to start survey operations. As soon as the Government gives the OK, work will begin. The team is pretty excited about being there, and look forward to employing locals to assist in all the work that needs to be done. A shore based conservation lab will be one of the first things needed. We believe a planned maritime museum in Haiti will soon follow. This will be geared towards the youth of Haiti and will be in conjunction with universities in the U.S.

The vessel Sub Sea Serveyor is now in Key West ready to commence operations as soon as possible. This is going to be a very exciting season!

December 21st 2004

The SSR team has just returned from the wreck site in Florida. CBS Miami sent a newsteam along to capture the exciting event. Reporter and anchor Jason Wheeler along with photojournalist Curt Calhoon covered the story in great detail. They spent a week at sea with the SSR team while the wreck was video taped and artifacts for identification where recovered. It was a pleasure having them aboard! SSR along with Research Vessel Tiburon Inc. deployed tri-mix rebreather technical divers to the site. The dive teams accomplished their tasks and produced great video as well as the pre-archeaology on the wreck. If interested in diving this site, contact Tim Taylor.

New Side Scan image of wrecksite

Pottery on site

Old Timbers

Tech Diver onsite

Ballast pile

More to come soon................

October 27th 2004

Exciting news!!! While aboard the M/V Diamond last week, video was obtained of a virgin shipwreck. The data and video are being analyzed and will be available soon. Here is just a sampling........

October 4th 2004

The R/V Sub Sea Surveyor is headed north along Maine's scenic coast to the Bar Harbor area to do a sub sea survey. The new 4200-FS Side Scan System with CHIRP technology will be utilized to scan the sea floor. This new technology used by the US Navy for high speed Mine Countermeasures comes to Sub Sea Research first. We are the first private company in the world to get this system. We will post images of the survey data upon completion.
Also a first is the utilization of the marine 882 Cesium Magnetometer, Cesium vapor technology provides furthest detection range. Highest sensitivity at 0.004 nT/aHz.

With the recent purchases of this new and exciting technology, Sub Sea Research has moved to the top in it's industry.

September 12th 2004

Another Hurricane, not Charlie, not Frances, but Ivan. We were forced to move the ship out of it's path. They predicted a direct hit on Key West, and a category 5 would devastate the island and our ship. The ship was moved to Miami for the safety of the crew and vessel. They now say Ivan is going to tract about 160 NM west of Key West. It will be at least a week before the sea's calm down.....
Ivan has caused a lot of damage in it's path, and our blessings go out to all those affected by all these storms.

September 2nd 2004

MV Diamond prepares for departure to Port-au-Prince Haiti.

With the recent signing of the joint venture contract, the ship was to leave Key West Saturday, but it looks like hurricane Frances is going to cause a delay. Storm . Our prayers go out to all in Florida and elsewhere where she's been and where she's going. Please be careful and stay safe!

August 18, 2004

Sub Sea has acquired a 65' ex-fisheries patrol vessel. This vessel will be equipped with the latest navigation electronics, EdgeTech digital 4200-fs side scan sonar, Geometric 882 cesium marine magnetometer as well as the latest in survey electronics. The vessel was named "Sub Sea Surveyor". This vessel will do marine surveys throughout the northeast and Canada. It will be available for joint ventures, insurance companies and homeland security.

SUB SEA SURVEYOR

Harbor Security

DelphMap™ is Sub Sea's solution for Data Fusion, a powerful concept in which many types of data acquired in a given area contribute to produce a comprehensive picture for: pipeline and cable laying, port construction and maintenance, oil exploration and oilfield engineering, mine-hunting, search & salvage, archeology, scientific research, and environmental studies.

Geophysical
Navigation Survey Planning
Hydrography
3D modeling
Measuring Tools
Geo-Referencing
Profiles & Vectors
Backgrounds

A seafloor search is the process of detecting and recognizing a seabed anomaly using sonar for the purpose of identification, disposal, or retrieval. Detection is a function of sonar design, acoustical physics, and image enhancement while recognition is highly dependent upon the eye-brain interface and operator experience. Typically the objects for which the search is being conducted are either partially or completely buried, or, moored in shallow or deep configurations. In the past, small objects were detected by sidescan sonar imagery and in particular the size and shape of the acoustic shadow, which is a derivation of the acoustic reflection, fish altitude, and grazing angle at which the acoustic signal strikes the object. More modern systems are including other types of information (e.g., swath bathymetry, magnetometers). TEI offers all the tools required to log, process, and analyze the different data sets associated with a search survey. Applications for marine search include: Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Q-Route Survey, Site Clearance, Search and Recovery of Downed Aircraft and Sunken Shipwrecks.