Modern Mysteries

SS Cotopaxi shipwreck found after 94 years

By T.K. Randall
January 30, 2020 ·  3 comments

The vessel has long been subject to conspiracy theories. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Brocken Inaglory Remember that scene in Steven Spielberg's 1977 movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' where an old vessel is found miles from anywhere in the middle of the Gobi Desert ?

That was the SS Cotopaxi - a ship built in 1918 that famously disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle after heading from Charleston, South Carolina to Havana, Cuba in 1925.

Its disappearance went on to become one of the biggest maritime mysteries of all time.

Now though, almost a century after it vanished, a team of researchers including marine biologist and shipwreck explorer Michael Barnette believe that they have finally found the remains of the long-lost vessel off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida in an area of ocean known as the 'Bear Wreck.'According to Barnette, the Cotopaxi went down due to a combination of a sudden storm and a lack of much-needed maintenance which left the ship woefully ill-equipped to deal with the adverse weather.

Details of the discovery are set to be revealed in an upcoming episode of the Science Channel's "Shipwreck Secrets" which is due to air on February 9th.

"It was incredibly exciting," said Barnette.

"I've done a countless number of shipwreck dives but this one truly stood out."

Source: USA Today | Comments (3)

Tags: Cotopaxi, Bermuda Triangle