Lost Shipwrecks Spotted

Film team using Canadian subs find the remains of two shipwrecks off the coast of Washington state.

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) September 22, 2006 -- Two lost ships were discovered during a high definition video shoot off the coast of Washington state using manned submersibles. Both appear to be missing fishing vessels, one of Japanese origin and the other most likely American.

The ships were located during the filming of a TV pilot by DeepSea Ventures (“DSV”) a deep ocean exploration company based in Spokane, Washington. The research vessel Valero IV - Seattle and submersible experts Nuytco Research Ltd. of Vancouver, BC, supported the DSV mission.

“Finding the fishing vessels was an incredible experience,” said Guy Zajonc, DSV’s founder and veteran deep diver. “With my sons, I’ve had the chance to visit famous wrecks like the Titanic and the Bismarck, but here was something truly undiscovered, perfect for our program. The working title is DeepSeakers, and our mission is to find missing shipwrecks so that we can share the thrill of discovery and their stories with viewers through the eyes of our guest divers.”

“My dive on the first wreck was amazing,” said Donna Fernandez a Florida human resources manager and the show’s first guest diver. “We were over a thousand feet deep, and then suddenly out of the darkness we see this wreck, covered with sea life. I mostly shuffle paperwork behind a desk all day. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see something like this, a missing ship that no one has seen in years.”

Work on identifying these lost vessels is far from over. “We believe every shipwreck has a story to tell,” said Janet Gaddy, DSV’s COO and project coordinator. “We will continue our research into these wrecks onshore until we have found their identities and notified the families of anyone who was lost on them. We left the sites with a deeper appreciation of the dangers of fishing the cold waters of the north Pacific.”

Anyone with information about these two ship losses is asked to contact DeepSea Ventures at www.deepseakers.com.

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