CRMC will provide protected site for sunken ships in Newport

Artifacts taken from the Newport wreck site. Governor Donald Carcieri voices his support of the exploration of the wreck site. At far right are Kathy Abass Ph.D., project director for RIMAP, and CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian.

May 26, 2006, NEWPORT—The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, in its authority as the state’s coastal agency and directed under RI General Law, will assist underwater archaeologists in their discovery and preservation of a fleet of sunken Revolutionary War ships in Newport Harbor by providing a safe and secure site for exploration.

The CRMC is cooperating with the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, which is overseeing the work on the sunken fleet, as well as the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP), in regards to providing a Marine Protected Area (MPA) for exploration and preservation of the sunken vessels.

Once the Marine Protected Area is designated by the Council, through enactment of emergency regulations, law enforcement authorities such as DEM, the State Police and the Newport Harbormaster will be authorized by the CRMC to protect the two-mile reserve area during activity. The CRMC will also provide local and other authorities with agency enforcement staff if needed. This CRMC-designated Marine Protected Area will also authorize state, local and other enforcement officials to patrol water and land at this location to protect the integrity of the wrecks. The CRMC will also establish a restricted perimeter around the entire area while work continues on the site to keep it safe for the archaeological team.

“It is crucial that the site, as well as the archaeological team and other experts working on this wreck, be protected from looters and other divers during the exploration process,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “The CRMC-designated Marine Protected Area will allow local, state and other enforcement officials to patrol the area during this time and ensure that the archaeologists are allowed to do their job without the threat of looting or disturbance of this important wreck site. We are proud to offer this protection to the state historical preservation and heritage commission and to RIMAP.”

While Kathy Abass, Ph.D., project director for RIMAP, at a May 16 press conference discussed the possibility that one of the sunken vessels might be Captain James Cook’s Endeavour, the team has not yet confirmed this. Work at the site will include trying to identify one of the ships as the Lord Sandwich, formerly the Endeavour.

The ship carried Cook, his crew and a team of scientists around the world from 1768-1771. On this trip the Endeavour surveyed the eastern coast of Australia, leading to the later British claim and colonization of the continent. The Endeavour was then used as a Navy store ship and was sold in 1775 and the new owner offered the vessel back to the British transport service under the new name of Lord Sandwich. The ship carried German troops to Newport in 1776 when the British occupied the city during the American Revolution. In the summer of 1778 the French fleet sailed to Narragansett Bay to provide support for the American army preparing to attack Newport. The British first burned and/or sank 10 Royal Navy vessels to avoid capture, and between August 3 and 5 they sank as many as 13 transports, including the Lord Sandwich, in Newport’s Outer Harbor to protect the city. After the Americans and French withdrew from the Siege of Newport and after the Battle of Rhode Island, the British raised two of the Royal Navy ships, but it is unknown how many more were salvaged. (-Source: RIMAP)