A ship sunk in 1943 would be polluting the East Coast of the United States with oil.
NOAA has identified others 17 sunken vessels that will need to be removed soon to avoid further contamination.
Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN / Getty Images
Investigators from the National Office for Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found an oil tanker dating from World War II sunk in the East coast while mapping the sea floor and that it could be polluting the sea . According to historical records, the vessel was attacked by two German torpedoes in 1943, which killed three crew members and ended up sinking the ship.
The SS Bloody Marsh was built in 1943 and its objective was to bring oil to Europe during the war , but shortly after setting sail from Houston, it was attacked by the Germans until it was sunk with all its cargo and three crew members that same year. Now, the ship was found by NOAA authorities while mapping the seabed.
Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration came across a historic discovery while mapping the ocean floor recently an oil tanker that dates back to World War II. The SS Bloody Marsh, was found when NOAA was mapping the ocean floor off the coast of SC pic.twitter.com/dFpMDzWArv
“It is important to find the Bloody Marsh and to get a remotely operated vehicle to operate at the scene of the accident and assess the risk of contamination , ”Mike Brennan, SEARCH Maritime Project archaeologist told AccuWeather.
According to the records, the Blood and Marsh was loading more than 100, 000 oil barrels at the time of his shipwreck. In addition, authorities recently found an oil slick of about 2.5 miles near the sinking site and the experts do not rule out that it comes from the ship at the bottom of the sea, but they will have to do more tests to confirm it.
It is not news that sunken ships are found near the coast of the United States and that they represent an environmental threat. In fact, NOAA has a list of vessels on the bottom of the seabed that can be especially polluting for the ecosystem with 87 ships so far. Of the total, were identified for possible removal .
NOAA estimates there are close to 20 , 000 Sunken vessels near the United States, but not all of them present a latent threat to the environment, as very few were transporting fuel or oil like the Bloody Mash.
“Given the location of this wreck, the oil stains observed upstream, the welded carpentry and the general appearance of the wreck as that of a T2 tanker, and the coincidence of the length of the hull section with the damage of the torpedo, I am confident that this is the wreck of the SS Bloody Marsh , ”Brennan concluded.
