The World’s Deepest Shipwreck Has Recently Been Found By Explorers

Outnumbered and outgunned, the USS Samuel B Roberts’ last stand is seen as a courageous moment in American naval history.

Explorers have located the world’s deepest shipwreck in the Philippine Sea at a depth of 6,895 meters (22,621 ft).

On June 22, 2022, sonar expert Jeremie Morizet and millionaire explorer Victor Vescovo found the wreckage of the USS Samuel B Roberts, also known as “Sammy B.”

During World War II, the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a destroyer escort measuring 93 meters (306 feet), was constructed for the American Navy. In the broader Battle of Leyte Gulf, which included the Battle off Samar, it traded gunfire with a sizable Imperial Japanese Navy flotilla until meeting her watery demise in October 1944.

The USS B. Johnston and a small US fleet put up a valiant fight against the Imperial Japanese Navy despite being just a destroyer escort. But eventually, it was overpowered, sinking to the seafloor with about 89 of the crew’s 224 members.

The USS Samuel B. Roberts’ final struggle against overwhelming odds and superior firepower is remembered as a heroic moment in American naval history.

However, no one was convinced of its precise position. Vescovo, the founder of Caladan Oceanic, and the EYOS Expeditions crew set out to find the wreck in six dives that took place between June 17 and 24 using submersible vehicles and sonar-beaming ships. On June 18, they finally succeeded in locating the wreck thanks to a Sammy B-specific three-tube torpedo launcher.

The Sammy B’s full wreck, split in half from bow to stern and sitting on a slope at a depth of 6,895 meters, was then found during a subsequent dive (22,621 feet).

It surpasses the USS Johnston (6,469 meters), examined by Vescovo last year, by 426 meters, making it the deepest wreck ever discovered and explored (1,398 feet).

In a statement provided to IFLScience, Vescovo stated, “It was an unbelievable honor to locate this immensely historic ship and, by doing so, have the chance to recount her story of valor and responsibility to others who may not be aware of the ship and her crew’s sacrifice.”

The sheer bravery of those who fought in this fight against genuinely overwhelming odds – and prevailed – never ceases to astound me.