A 19th century ship that sunk off the coast of Plymouth has been found 140 years later.
The SS Nantes sank in November 1888 killing 23 crew members and the ship’s whereabouts have been unknown until now.
It is all thanks for deep sea diver Dom Robinson that the forgotten ship has now been found – 246 feet deep, 30 miles southeast of Plymouth.
He found a piece of crockery in the water and saw it bore the stamp ‘Cunard Steamship Company’ which helped identify the vessel.
Dom told Metro: ‘It was a Eureka moment when I found the plate and could make that connection.
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‘It feels like I’ve honoured those who lost their lives in the sinking because of solving that mystery.
‘Out of all my deep sea dives this one was definitely up there as the best because it was so unsuspected.’
Conditions were poor on the day that the steam ship was hit by the German sailing vessel Theodor Ruger.
The vessel pierced into the side of the Nantes and tore a big hole on the side which eventually caused it to sink.
The crews on the Nantes were unable to escape because the collision damaged the lifeboats.
Out of everybody on board, only three people survived, including one man found at sea and two who jumped off.
Dom shared his story on his YouTube account and said that deep water diving is his ‘way of life’.
‘To be able to solve mysteries and have this sense of adventure is exciting,’ he said.
‘By doing this it feels good because it brings these people’s stories back to life.
‘I won’t stop deep water diving.’
Dr Harry Bennett is an expert in maritime history at Plymouth University and gave his reaction to Metro.
He said: ‘Every wreck tells a story and this one is important because it tells a human story.
‘It highlights the every day perils of maritime travel, particularly during a time when many ships ended up crashing.
‘We have forgotten a lot of our history and finds like this highlight the dangers of maritime travel even today.
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