The Quest for Elusive Shipwrecks

Editor’s Note: CNN Travel’s Monthly Ticket series is featuring the world’s most fascinating travel topics. This month, we explore the offbeat, from haunted spaces to abandoned places.

CNN
 — 

In March 2022, the world was captivated by the discovery of the remarkably well-preserved shipwreck of Ernest Shackleton’s HMS Endurance, found almost two miles below the freezing Antarctic seas.

But there are still many more sunken vessels that remain undiscovered on the ocean floor.

Here are some of the world’s most famously elusive shipwrecks, as well as a few that you can see for yourself (some without even getting wet).

According to one theory, the sinking of Christopher Columbus’ flagship Santa Maria off the coast of Haiti on Christmas Eve 1492 was caused by a cabin boy who took the wheel while Columbus napped and crashed the ship into a coral reef.

In May 2014, archaeologist Barry Clifford claimed to have discovered the long-lost wreck of the Santa Maria. However, UNESCO later disputed the claim, stating that the found ship was from a different time period.

The true location of the Santa Maria remains a mystery.

The Flor de la Mar, a 16th-century merchant ship or “carrack,” sailed between India and Portugal. It sank in a storm off Sumatra, Indonesia in 1511. The ship was massive, measuring 118 feet long and 111 feet high, making it challenging to maneuver. The crew and most of its valuable cargo, including the personal fortune of a Portuguese governor, were lost.

The wreck of the Flor de la Mar has captured the imagination of many, including a fictionalized version of pirate Zheng Yi Sao on an episode of “Doctor Who.” But despite various attempts to locate it, the ship remains elusive.

The SS Waratah, often referred to as “Australia’s Titanic,” was a passenger cargo ship that sailed between Europe, Australia, and Africa. It disappeared in 1909, just three years before the Titanic tragedy. The ship, all its passengers, and crew were never found. While there have been search efforts over the years, the exact location of the Waratah remains unknown.

The MV Captayannis, a Greek sugar-carrying boat, sank in a squall off the coast of Scotland in 1974. The wreck, which is now a popular spot for birdwatchers, is still stuck in a sandbank. Efforts to remove it have been unsuccessful, making it a permanent and unusual local attraction.

Chuuk Lagoon, located in the Pacific, was the site of a major World War II naval base for the Japanese. However, during Operation Hailstone in 1944, Allied forces sank around 60 Japanese ships and aircraft in the lagoon. Many of them still remain at the bottom, turning Chuuk Lagoon into a popular destination for divers eager to explore the sunken relics of war.

The MS World Discoverer, a cruise ship that partially sank off the Solomon Islands in 2000, has become a tourist attraction for passing ships. The ship remains in its half-sunken state, providing a unique sight to those sailing by.