Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Shipwrecks and Lost Aircraft Profiled in Recent Magazines

I enjoy working with the media to educate the public about the nautical history of shipwrecks and the undersea world. Lately, I have been involved with several television documentaries that have been placed on many of the cable networks ( MsNBC, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Sci-Fi Channel etc.) and have done a slew of newspaper and magazine interviews. This month, I have been profiled in several different magazines pertaining to my work on the shipwrecks and an aircraft. This is not so uncommon because I am involved with so much shipwreck and underwater research that the media and the public finds very fascinating. However, this month has to be the most diverse in terms of the types of magazines that I have been written about in a long time.  It seems that my diving and shipwreck work has taken a new persona as characterized by these three distinct magazine articles:

December 2005 Sci Fi Magazine - Profiles the search for the Bermuda Triangle's famed lost Mariner rescue aircraft that went missing while looking for the 5 US Navy Avenger aircraft in 1945. I led a team of 20 scientists, divers and operational crew on the underwater search for the PBM-5 Mariner aircraft.

January 2006 Worth Magazine - This magazine caters to high net worth individuals and has an article about the the search for lucrative shipwrecks and its ability to provide the investors and salvors fortune and fame. I have a few comments about treasure hunting in this article.

January / February 2006 Aquanaut Magazine - This diving magazine is written in German and caters to the Swiss, German and Austrian sport and recreational diving markets. The article that I am profiled in is entitled Andrea Doria: Der Mount Everest der Wracktaucher which translates out to Andrea Doria: The Mount Everest of Wreck Diving. I have dove the Andrea Doria over a hundred times since the mid-1980's and will be going back this summer with the Official Andrea Doria Diving Expedition ™ to mark the 50th anniversary of its collision and sinking.

Well-so far I have not been approached by Playboy yet ;-) !

2006 Marks the 50th Anniversary of the Andrea Doria Collision and Sinking

This is the year of the Andrea Doria and I have many exciting projects planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the collision and sinking of this beautiful ocean liner. I have been saving some phenomenal materials that will be unveiled for the first time this year that will change the overall perception of what happen that tragic evening of July 25th, 1956. This rare information will include one-of-a-kind documentation about the collision, sinking and the behind-the-scenes negotiations by the lawyers and insurers that will shed some new insight into the tragedy that was never before published. The book by Andrea Doria survivor Pierette Simpson will soon become an Andrea Doria classic as some of this new information will be placed in her book. The anticipated release date for the book is Spring 2006 and will be a startling revelation about the collision, sinking, rescue and diving of the Andrea Doria. In addition, two new film documentaries will be released in the European and the North American markets about some of the latest information about this tragedy that was never formally released to the public. Nautical Research Group will be the sponsor of the Official Andrea Doria Diving Expedition to be held in early July 2006.  The year's activities will climax with the Andrea Doria Survivors Reunion that is a closed, by-invitation-only gala affair that will be held at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in late July. Stay subscribed to our weblog ( blog ) for the latest developments and project planning surrounding the Andrea Doria Anniversary activities.

Who is to Blame for the Andrea Doria - Stockholm Collision?

Being a noted authority on the history of the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria, I have been asked this same question over a thousand times. I have spent over 25 years looking into this question and am 100 percent positive with the following conclusions. Here is a quick synopsis of my highly controversial answer:

There were many small errors made by both ships, the Italian liner Andrea Doria and the Swedish-American liner Stockholm, that contributed to the collision. Each small error concatenated to become bigger errors. However, the biggest error that fateful evening of July 25th, 1956 was the misreading of the radar by the young Third Officer Carstens aboard the Stockholm. This was truly the fatal error and was pivotal for the collision to have taken place that foggy evening at 11:10 pm!

As far as formal guilt for the collision, there was none that was legally attributed. There were pre-trial depositions that were taken, in contemplation of a full trial, but both ship owners, deciding that it would not be in their best interests to have a long, drawn-out trial, settled their differences with their common insurers. Therefore-it never went to trial to decide who was at fault. Informally, many professional mariners in the US went over all the testimony; and understanding the laws of the sea figured that, barring perjury from either the Doria or Stockholm's officers and crew, the Stockholm bridge officer was mistaken about the radar. These mariners have always believed that the radar misreading was the critical error. Every decision that Stockholm's young and inexperienced Third Officer Carstens made on the bridge from 20 minutes before the collision to the collision time suggest that he thought that the Doria was much further away. It made the most reasonable and logical sense for this theory. However, Carstens has vehemently denied this, but computer projections of the collision prove out, with very little doubt that the reason for this collision was the radar misreading by Carstens.

This misread of the radar by Carstens has overwhelming and uniform acceptance; and is supported by the world's most prestigious mariners/nautical scientists. Making this type of error is a very simple thing to do on a busy bridge with fog and a vessel closing fast. Back in those days, the radar rings were not illuminated and the radar's range scale selection was done manually by moving a switch. It is believed by these experts that Carstens thought that he was on a different range (15 mile) when in reality he was on another range (5 mile). In order to verify what range you are on in the night, a small flashlight is used. All the decisions that Carstens made on the bridge would support that Carstens believed that he was on a distant range and that the Doria was farther away then he thought.

For fair balance, a good account of the collision with a totally different interpretation is the book Collision Course by Alvin Moscow. In his book, Mr. Moscow attributed the blame to the captain of the Andrea Doria-Piero Calamai. For many years, Moscow's book was the definitive source for the collision. A marine engineer named John Carrouthers who was contracted by the Navy to investigate marine accidents concluded otherwise and could prove with utmost certainty that the accident was caused by the Stockholm. As the world's nautical experts had an opportunity to look at all the evidence, they have felt that the misreading of the radar was highly probable as the fatal mistake. Currently, at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), the cadets use this accident scenario every semester as an example of radar misreading on the bridge. The textbook used for this course is called Watchstanding Guide for the Merchant Officer by Captain Robert J. Meurn Publisher: Cornell Maritime Press, ISBN 0-87033-409-3. (May 1990; updated 2006) In this book, Captain Meurn spends several pages (pp173-176) explaining the reasons for the collision of the Doria-Stockholm on misreading of the ship's radar by the Stockholm and uses this as a learning tool to make sure that any nautical/maritime officer avoids this ship-to-ship encounter. Additionally all cadets are taught how to man a ship's bridge using a multimillion dollar simulator that has the complete accident of the collision programmed specifically with what was occurring out at sea on July 25th, 1956. Captain Meurn is a master mariner and professor emeritus at the USMMA and this textbook is used at the United States Coast Guard and the US Naval Academies; as well as for NOAA mariners.

Since there was never a formal trial (just pre-trial deposition) the ultimate truth will always be left up to the individual; however, with the 50th anniversary of the collision and sinking approaching, there is no doubt that professional mariners in the United States know who was at fault. Coming late Spring 2006, look for a new book by Andrea Doria survivor Pierette Simpson who will provide new and startling evidence for the facts behind the collision and sinking of the Andrea Doria.

Titanic Logs - July 13th Day of Rest

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

Today is a day of rest for me, as well as the crew of the MIR submersible team. We have had three straight days of perfect weather and successfully accomplished 6 submersible dives to the Titanic. Last night, I had a very late night after our MIR submersible was recovered by Keldysh. By the time we got back on the deck of Keldysh, it was almost 9:45 pm and MIR I had already been back for over 3 hours. I felt very satisfied with our dive and visited all the spots that I had planned on visiting with the exception of the Grand Staircase. As we disembarked from the MIR, I was given a flute of champagne (or sparkling white wine?) and proceeded to down the flute in one gulp, followed by a bathroom run. My modified diet had served me well while in the MIR for over 12 hours. When I got back out on deck, they gave me the entire bottle of champagne and brought me to the dining room for a wonderful gourmet meal. Stripping out of the NOMEX fire-proof suit, I had a scrumptious meal with many of my fellow observers that took an opportunity to grill me about my wonderful experience. By the time I finished dinner and changed, it was about 11:30 pm but I was too excited to sleep. I decided to stay up with my good friends from Arizona ( Brian Day O'Connor, Chris Vinger, John Lennon and Eric Crown) until the wee hours talking about our Titanic adventures and other sultry tales.

The next morning, I got a chance to sleep in until 8 am and made sure that I returned the NOMEX suit back to Mother before she tracked me down.  I was slated to give two Andrea Doria presentations today - one of the presentations was our Corporation's copyrighted film and the other one was presenting Peter Gimbel's early 1980 expedition to this beautiful Italian liner. Today's activities included a Group Expedition Photograph and later our big BBQ dinner extravaganza out on the patio deck of Keldysh. During this buffet, the Russian crew re-introduced me to "Sheila". Sheila is not a person nor anything living. Sheila is their special homemade vodka that they make somewhere in the deep bowels of Keldysh. I have no idea what is in Sheila but I can certainly attest that it is VERY strong. The movie for the evening was James Cameron's Titanic. I would of thought that everyone had watched this film many times and that the attendance would be sparse. However, I was so wrong as everyone came to watch the film including Anatoly Sagelevitch, who was one of the stars of the film.  In his movie role, Anatoly had this famous line "No gold???" that sent our audience into an uproar. I really admire and respect Anatoly. He is truly a warm and wonderful person!

Italian Beauty Andrea Doria - 49th Anniversary!

With all the press buzzing about our observations about Titanic and the beautiful documentary by James Cameron that was released last night on the Discovery network, it is hard to talk about anything else but Titanic.

Despite this "titanic" uproar, I would like to change the topic for another Lost Liner that today will mark a quite ominous anniversary. Tonight at 11:10 pm in dense fog, the Swedish-American liner, Stockholm collided with the pride of the Italian merchant fleet, the beautiful Andrea Doria about 50 miles southwest of Nantucket Island Massachusetts 49 years ago.  Nautical Research Group has spent many decades exploring and researching this "floating art museum" and has amassed the largest collection of Andrea Doria items in the world. The rescue of over 1700 passengers has been described as the "greatest open sea rescue" of all time. Unlike Titanic and the Empress of Ireland's massive toll of lives lost, the Andrea Doria lost 46 passengers that night, primarily in the impact zone where the Stockholm impaled itself into the starboard hull, just below the bow wing bridge.

Next year there will be a huge reunion of the Andrea Doria survivors, tentatively planned to be held at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, Long Island, New York. Survivors, family and their guests will be treated to a wonderful day of activities and fine dining. In order to mark the 50th anniversary, Andrea Doria survivor Pierette Domenica Simpson will be publishing a book about the survivor's perspective of this tragedy and will lay the framework for uncovering the real reasons why the Stockholm collided and sank the Andrea Doria. This book will become a classic and will finally solve the mystery of how this accident could have occurred in the era of radar. I will give further information about this book as the publication date approaches.

The state of decay on the Andrea Doria is quite amazing. All of the top deck levels above the hull have collapsed and lie on the bottom of the ocean like a huge junk pile. Even Gimbel's Hole in the Foyer Deck has twisted upon itself and the opening can not be penetrated. In the mid-1980's, I discovered that there was more damage inflicted by the reinforced "ice-breaking" bow of the Stockholm on the Andrea Doria than was ever envisioned by its Ansaldo builders. It appears that the Stockholm's bow had even breached the starboard side keel as it collided at nearly full speed into the most vulnerable spot on the Andrea Doria. Over the past twenty years, this keel breach has expanded throughout the hull of the Andrea Doria and now threatens to separate the entire bow section of the ship, from the forecastle to the tip of the bow, from the remainder of the ship. Strong currents and relatively shallow waters at 265 feet have taken its toll on the Andrea Doria and even Titanic is in much better shape in comparison to this once-proud Italian liner.

Andrea Doria - Dive to Danger!

Over the past Memorial Day weekend, I had a chance to drive through New England up into Massachusetts. As I was driving past the Cape, I was thinking about the lost Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria. Nautical Research Group has one of the largest and most extensive collections of Andrea Doria memorabilia in the world that encompasses three museum exhibits. Each one of these exhibits has been displayed at various museums, libraries and universities throughout North America. Our permanent exhibit resides at the Nantucket Lifesaving Museum that represents the closest landfall from the shipwreck, and represents our smallest exhibit.

At the end of this month starts the two and a half month weather window for diving expeditions out to the shipwreck. The Andrea Doria is in about 260 feet of cold, North Atlantic waters and has decayed quite significantly over the past ten years. The entire thick aluminum superstructure has had its structural integrity compromised and subsequently slid off into the sandy bottom. I plan on visiting her watery remains at the end of July; as I have done for over 100 previous dives. Please enjoy a dive to the stern of the Andrea Doria via this video and observe the stern wing bridge on the left and the fishing nets that drape the wreck.

Andrea Doria - New Book Packed with Plenty of Pictures

My good friend, author William H. Miller, has just published a beautiful "coffee table" book on the Andrea Doria entitled "Picture History of the Andrea Doria".  Bill is the quintessential historian on ocean liners and has published more than 60 books on the topic. In his latest book, Bill provides many new and unique photographs of the Andrea Doria that has been dubbed "a floating art museum".  Because Nautical Research Group, Inc. has the largest collection of Andrea Doria items in the world, Bill has invited me to present at several ocean liner meetings - the most recent was last December at the South Street Seaport where we premiered our new Andrea Doria digital presentation "Andrea Doria - Dive to Adventure and Danger". Pick up a copy of Bill's wonderful book at any Borders, Barnes and Noble or Amazon bookstore sites. For information regarding Nautical Research Group's blockbuster digital video presentation of the Andrea Doria, contact their corporation at [email protected] .