HMS Investigator Wreck Found By Canadian Team August 16, 2010 by lukesheppard

The HMS Investigator wreck, built at Scotts of Greenock and bought by the Admiralty in February 1848 has been found by a team of Parks Canada scientists after 156 years since it was last seen. HMS Investigator was strengthened for Arctic services and later in 1848 she set sail, accompanying Enterprise on James Clark Ross’s expedition in search for the missing Sir John Franklin. On the return voyage, which was commanded by Robert McClure, HMS Investigator became trapped in the ice, and three years later on June 3rd 1853 she was finally abandoned in Mercy Bay.

A year later, Investigator was inspected by crews of the Resolute where she was still frozen in and was reported to be in fairly good condition, even after taking in some water during the summer thaw period. It wasn’t until July of this year that the Canadian Parks scientists, archaeologists and surveyors started their searches for the wreck in Mercy Bay at the northern tip of Aulavik National Park, the first ever expedition in search for the ship.  The Canadian team arrived in the Beaufort Sea at Banks Island on 22nd July where they began a sonar scan of the area. Just 15 minutes after the start of the scan, the ship was detected. Over the next hour, the team made several sweeps of the area to confirm the discovery.

The Investigators remains were found on the shores of the island with the deck of the ship roughly eight metres below the surface of the water. Superintendent with Parks Canada, Ifan Thomas said “the ship was found sitting upright in the silt; the three masts have been removed, probably by ice.” Because the Arctic waters are so cold it has prevented the outer deck from deteriorating rapidly. As yet, there are no plans to raise the remains of the ship, but the team will be sending a remotely operated underwater vehicle to take photos of the underwater portion of the wreck.