The wreck of a US Navy destroyer known as the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific” has been found off the coast of California by undersea investigators.
The USS Stewart was deliberately sunk during a US Navy exercise in May 1946 and its final resting place has now been located, according to a statement from the Air Sea Heritage Foundation and Search Inc, which were both involved in the investigation, published Tuesday.
Three autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) deployed by robotic marine survey firm Ocean Infinity scanned the ocean floor in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary off northern California over the course of 24 hours starting on August 1, with sonar and mulitbeam echosounder data revealing that the Stewart was sitting 3,500 feet (1,036 meters) below the ocean’s surface.
USS Stewart pictured arriving in San Francisco Bay in March 1946. (Donald M. McPherson/Naval History and Heritage Command via CNN)
“Preliminary sonar scans revealed that the Stewart is largely intact and that its hull — which remains sleek and imposing — rests nearly upright on the seafloor,” reads the statement.
“This level of preservation is exceptional for a vessel of its age and makes it potentially one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy ‘fourstacker’ destroyer known to exist.”
The team also carried out another sonar survey and sent down a remote-operated vehicle equipped with a camera to carry out a visual inspection.
Commissioned in 1920, the USS Stewart had a tumultuous life.
The ship was damaged in combat against Japanese forces in 1942 and was captured by the enemy, becoming the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Patrol Boat No. 102, according to the release.
“Soon, far-ranging Allied pilots began reporting the strange sight of an old American destroyer operating deep behind enemy lines,” reads the statement.
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“It was not until the Stewart was found afloat in Kure, Japan at the end of the war that the mystery of the Pacific ghost ship was finally solved.”
It was then towed back to San Francisco before it was used as a target ship during a naval exercise, sinking after absorbing fire for more than two hours.
A view of the bow of the ship. (Ocean Infinity via CNN)
“In the following decades, the Stewart’s story drew the interest of historians, archaeologists, and naval enthusiasts, and the rediscovery of its wreck became a top national priority for exploration,” reads the statement. “More than 78 years would pass before it was found.”
Retired US Navy admiral Samuel J. Cox, director of Naval History and Heritage Command and curator for the US Navy, praised the team that found the ship.
“Whether lost in battle or sunk as a target, a warship remains sovereign property in perpetuity,” he said in the statement.
“It is important to know the location and condition of such wrecks so that they may be protected from unauthorized disturbance under the US Sunken Military Craft Act.”
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