Wreckage Of Sunken Whaling Ships Discovered Off Alaskan Coast

Editor's Blog





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Over 1,200 whalers were forced to abandon their vessels after becoming trapped in pack ice in September 1871. This image was scanned from the original Harper's Weekly 1871, courtesy of Robert Schwemmer/Maritime Library.

The sunken remains of two ill-fated whaling ships have been found off the coast of Alaska, 144 years after they became crushed by pack ice, forcing all crew members to abandon their vessels. Though all were later rescued, the event marks one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of U.S whaling, and resulted in the loss of an entire fleet of 33 ships.