A perfectly preserved "ghost ship" has been discovered 2,000 feet below the ocean surface off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Researchers from the University of Hawaii (UH) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced the discovery of the intact "ghost ship" nearly 32km off the coast of Oahu.
Sitting upright, its solitary mast still standing and the ship's wheel still in place, the hulk of the former cable ship Dickenson, later the USS Kailua, was found on the seabed last year on a maritime heritage submersible mission.
"One of our first views of the USS Kailua was the classic helms wheel on the fantail. The ship was surprisingly intact for a vessel that was sunk with a torpedo. The upper deck structures from the bow to the stern were well-preserved and showed no sign of torpedo damage," said Terry Kerby, UH Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's (HURL) submersible pilot.
Launched in Chester, Pennsylvania in early 1923 for the Commercial Pacific Cable Company, Dickenson was a vital part of a global network of submarine cable that carried telecommunications around the world.
When the cable reached Hawaii for the first time in 1901, it was a major step in establishing not only a key link in the network, but also in connecting the islands to the rest of the world with near-instant communication, researchers said.
Dickenson arrived in Hawaii and started work in July of that year. Repairing cable and carrying supplies, Dickenson served the remote stations at Midway and Fanning Island from 1923 until 1941.
"From her inter-island service to her role in Pacific communications and then World War II, Dickenson today is like a museum exhibit resting in the darkness, reminding us of these specific elements of Pacific history," said Hans Van Tilburg of the maritime heritage programme in NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
Dickenson arrived at Pearl Harbour with the Fanning evacuees on the morning of December 7, 1941, sailing into a port at war.
"Some of the evacuees on Dickenson noticed a submarine following their ship, only to see it disappear as US forces attacked the sub and drove it off," researchers said.
