NJ Dive Team Locates Shipwreck

A dive team from New Jersey came across the site of a shipwreck off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Working for Atlantic Wreck Salvage, the members of the dive team used the company’s boat D/V Tenacious from Point Pleasant Beach to uncover the location of the wreckage.

The remains of the wreck are from an 1856 transatlantic passenger steamship named Le Lyonnais. Embarking on this journey, they were able to find the wreck in just about 200 miles from their starting point at Fleet Marina in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The crew noted the discovery after dives on August 22 and 23, but they only shared the news on September 4.

Atlantic Wreck Salvage’s Facebook post shared historical information about Le Lyonnais, noting that the vessel crashed into the American sailing boat named Adriatic off the coast of Nantucket on November 2, 1856. 114 passengers and crew members aboard Le Lyonnais died during the collision.

Laird & Sons of Birkenhead, England constructed the vessel for Compagnie Franco-Americaine in 1855 to transport passenger and mail services. During this time period, ships were newly fitted with steam engines, and Le Lyonnais contained two technological gadgets: a screw propeller and an iron hull.

The discovery comes with much relief, as the dive team members, including Jennifer Selliti who wrote The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-And-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket, sought to uncover the lost site and the truth behind the crash. Andrew Donn, Kurt Mintell, Joe Mazraani, Tom Packer, Tim Whitehead and Eric Takakjian were also part of the search for Le Lyonnais.