Recent History
On 6 April 2001, after a search, the hulk of the ship was found again. It is now treated as a memorial for over 50 sailors whose remains are still there. A full narrative of the wreck's discovery, with details of the ship's loss and photographs of the initial exploration dives, is documented on the website Bentprop.org.
Later in 2001, in response to concerns voiced by the local government about oil being released from the site, the U.S. Navy led a survey dive to determine the status of the wreck and the potential for environmental damage from the deteriorating hulk. Divers confirmed that the potential for a large release of the tanker's cargo fuel made a recovery attempt necessary. A report from that survey expedition is posted on the at Supervisor of Salvage and Diving website.
In February 2003, a US Navy salvage team led an expedition to recover as much oil as possible. Divers used "hot taps" to drill into the oil tanks and removed all accessible oil, nearly 2 million US gallons (7,600 m3), rendering the wreck safer. This final expedition is also documented on the SupSalv website and is available here.
Read more about this topic: USS Mississinewa (AO-59)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constantinople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“What would we not give for some great poem to read now, which would be in harmony with the scenery,—for if men read aright, methinks they would never read anything but poems. No history nor philosophy can supply their place.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)