The program unveiled a new exhibit at Nauticus in Norfolk, Va., that features a mock-up of Clelia, a Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution's submersible. The exhibit will provide a simulated archaeological dive to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.  In this interactive exhibit, visitors walk into the back of the mock-up where they find instruments and a screen continuously showing video from the Monitor site. They will have the opportunity to operate a mechanical arm in an attempt to recover samples from the sea floor, as well as a remote video camera to help investigate the survey area. Interpretive signs describe the sub, the Maritime Heritage Program, and the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Exhibits like the Clelia are invaluable education tools giving visitors a glimpse into our maritime past.

Program archaeologists and Alaska’s Office of History and Archaeology documented the remains of the Hassler, a Coast Survey vessel that sank in 1898 off Eldred Rock, Alaska.  The objectives of the 2007 Hassler expedition were to document the shipwreck’s archaeological details through site drawings, still photography and video, and to compile sufficient data to nominate the wreck to the National Register of Historic Places. When it was built in 1871, the Hassler represented the cutting edge in ship construction and design. The Hassler was the first U.S. Coast Survey vessel constructed from iron and the most technologically advanced science vessel of its time.

The wreck of the coal schooner Paul Palmer, which rests on the seafloor within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of cultural resources deserving of special preservation. The early 20th-century vessel was part of a larger fleet that carried bulk cargos throughout the East Coast, and Caribbean. Its archaeological remains will likely yield important historical information.

Sanctuary program archaeologists are adding to the nation’s understanding of maritime history in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by conducting non-invasive surveys on wreck sites in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Part of the sanctuary program’s mandate is to document historical shipwrecks and find ways to protect these important sites. The team investigated several sites including an F4U-1 Corsair at Midway Atoll, the former liberty ship Quartette at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and a new, unidentified wreck site at French Frigate Shoals thought to be the late 19th-century schooner Churchill.