Ancient Shipwrecks Discovered Off Haiti - image via Wikipedia
Greg Brooks and John Hardy of the Sub Sea Research (www.subsearesearch.com)] team have recently made eight ancient shipwreck discoveries off the coast of Haiti and have recently received approval from the Haitian government to recover and conserve the finds. The team is excited to begin excavation and have the opportunity to provide historical artifacts and shipwreck treasure as well as revenue to Haiti.
The sites had been initially assessed for further identification and dating, and the Haitian government has recently approved Brooks’ outline for recovery and conservation of their finds. Representatives of the government of Haiti will be transporting some of the already recovered artifacts to Boston for further identification.
Brooks says excavation of the eight shipwreck sites will start at the end of June. Once the shipwrecks have been recovered, much of the artifacts and treasure will be brought to Maine for conservation and restoration. Most of the artifacts will go to a Portland museum, the Shipwreck Institute of Maine (also known as the “Musearium”).
Fifty percent of the monetary value of the shipwreck treasure found at the sites will go to the government of Haiti, and the other half will go to Sub Sea Research. The company reinvests much of the money earned from these excavations into future shipwreck projects. They also donate some of the money to numerous charities in Haiti and the United States.
Brooks says that being able to work with the government of Haiti to conduct this research and excavation is an accomplishment in itself. ÂWe have learned from experience that locating and discovering an interesting site and actually getting the right to recover it are two very separate issues, Brooks notes.
But the relationship that Sub Sea Research has established and maintained with the Haitian government (despite Haiti’s recent political turmoil) has proved to be beneficial to both the company and the people of Haiti. ÂEveryone recognized the long-term benefit that this project could bring, Brooks says. ÂMany times I wondered if after all this we would be allowed to continue. But in the end, our genuine interest and the truth won out, so we succeeded in reaffirming with the new leaders that our goals were for the benefit of the people of Haiti, and that the rest of the world needed to see something historically rewarding recovered from Haiti.Â
The company has two arrests pending and is awaiting permission to excavate in some areas of U.S. waters. Brooks says he has several deeper water sites that remain “under review” along Florida’s coast, including an alleged French merchant ship. Physical inspections and identification operations are underway and have been approved by U.S. federal agencies.
While the Florida site remains pending, Sub Sea Research will get ready to sail back to Haiti at the end of June to excavate and recover the findings at the several discovered shipwreck sites. Once the sites have been excavated and recovered, Sub Sea Research will begin preserving the artifacts and documenting the maritime history of the country.
About Sub Sea Research LLC
Sub Sea Research LLC is a privately held limited liability corporation based in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1984 by Greg and Kathy Brooks and joined by Lois and John Hardy as principal partners in 1993, the company has achieved a continued steady success rate in locating and recovering researched historic shipwrecks worldwide and continues to develop the Shipwreck Institute of Maine Project, as well as a planned maritime museum in Haiti. For more information, visit www.subsearesearch.com.
Contact:
Greg Brooks
Sub Sea Research
440 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
Phone/Fax: 207-879-1758
E-mail: info@subsearesearch.com
Web: http://subsearesearch.com
