World War Two Shipwrecks; a toxic legacy?
Dublin Core
Title
World War Two Shipwrecks; a toxic legacy?
Description
During the Second World War over 3,800 ships were sunk throughout the Pacific Region. The legacy of this conflict is still being felt today, with an unconfirmed number of potentially polluting wrecks (PPWs) still containing oil and unexploded ordinance. Many of these wrecks have deteriorated significantly and the threat of a spill is increasing as over 70 years of corrosion is causing collapse of the ships structures. The scale of this threat is largely unknown, however estimates indicate that thousands of tons of oil may remain in these wrecks with several identified as already leaking.
Aware of the increasing risk that these wrecks pose, the Major Projects Foundation was established in 2018 with the aim of mitigating this risk. The primary activity was the purchase of the former New Zealand Navy Diving Vessel HMNZ Manawanui as an expedition vessel. With the vessel newly renamed RV Ocean Recovery, and with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the University of Newcastle, the Major Projects Foundation is dedicated to gathering robust scientific data on the condition of PPWs throughout the Pacific. Using cutting edge and incorporating industry standard technology, high-risk wrecks will be surveyed and assessed. Once wrecks with oil content are identified, commonly practiced subsea engineering solutions exist to mitigate the threat of an oil spill. Furthermore, the information from the survey of these wrecks will be used to educate and mobilise the public and policy makers to the risk such PPWs pose to marine ecosystems and the people who rely on them.
Aware of the increasing risk that these wrecks pose, the Major Projects Foundation was established in 2018 with the aim of mitigating this risk. The primary activity was the purchase of the former New Zealand Navy Diving Vessel HMNZ Manawanui as an expedition vessel. With the vessel newly renamed RV Ocean Recovery, and with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the University of Newcastle, the Major Projects Foundation is dedicated to gathering robust scientific data on the condition of PPWs throughout the Pacific. Using cutting edge and incorporating industry standard technology, high-risk wrecks will be surveyed and assessed. Once wrecks with oil content are identified, commonly practiced subsea engineering solutions exist to mitigate the threat of an oil spill. Furthermore, the information from the survey of these wrecks will be used to educate and mobilise the public and policy makers to the risk such PPWs pose to marine ecosystems and the people who rely on them.
Creator
Matthew Carter
William Jeffery
Ian D MacLeod
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
November 2021
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Carter, Matthew, Dr. William Jeffery, and Dr. Ian D MacLeod. 2021. “World War Two Shipwrecks; a toxic legacy?.”
Edited by Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia
Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021.
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/683
Edited by Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia
Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021.
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/683
Rights Holder
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
Files
Citation
Matthew Carter, William Jeffery, and Ian D MacLeod , “World War Two Shipwrecks; a toxic legacy?,” APCONF-MUCH Proceedings Recently Added Items, accessed October 24, 2026, https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/items/show/683.