World

US battleship found in “amazing condition” despite being on seafloor for 160 years

June 7, 2022
Bharat Times

The USS Monitor was discovered in 1973.

An American battleship has been found since 1862 in “stunning condition” despite being at sea level off the coast of North Carolina.

In the latest expedition, Valor in the Atlantic, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries partnered with the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration to investigate the wreck. To their surprise, the team found that the ship was in much better condition than previously thought. He said that in the last 160 years, the warship has avoided being overwhelmed by time.

According to newsweekThe Civil War ironclad Union Navy battleship, USS Monitor, was set up and sank 16 miles off Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina coast some 160 years ago. Sixteen people died after the battleship was sunk by a storm.

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The wreckage of the USS Monitor was discovered in 1973 and then designated a National Marine Sanctuary in 1975. Since then, the battleship has been visited as part of various missions to recover the turret, propeller and other artifacts for conservation.

Now, after an ROV, a remotely operated underwater vehicle, was used to investigate the site, Ten Renata Caserli, resource conservation and permit coordinator at NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, said, “The wreck is on the sea floor. Having been in an astonishing condition for 160 years and weathering all environmental conditions off Cape Hatteras, including extremely strong currents and storms.”

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According to the media outlet, Ms Caserly also said that the iron hull and armor belt, built to withstand the rigors of war, has now helped provide a stable habitat for the USS Monitor in its new role as an island of life. enabled. “It was really unbelievable to see the change on the ocean floor. There was often so much marine life on the monitors that it was difficult to see the wreck itself,” she said.

NOAA reports that the wreck site is home to healthy corals that are swarming with life, and that even predators such as tiger sharks are present in so-called “living shipwrecks.” It stated that the USS Monitor was the oldest and most important shipwreck as it was the first American battleship to be built with a revolutionary rotating gun turret.