FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jennifer Sellitti
781-526-0733
[email protected]
TEAM OF DIVERS LOCATE WEST POINT SHIPWRECK, THE REMAINING CASUALTY OF U-53’S FAMOUS 1916 RAID OFF NANTUCKET
Atlantic Wreck Salvage (“AWSâ€), owners and operators of Dive Vessel Tenacious (“D/V Tenaciousâ€), today announced that a team of divers has located the resting place of British cargo vessel West Point. West Point is one of five ships sunk by German U-boat Commander Hans Rose off the coast of Nantucket in October of 1916 in a raid now regarded as one of a series of events that drew America into WWI. Four of the U-53 wrecks were discovered in the 1990s, but the West Point had eluded shipwreck hunters until now.
On October 7, 1916, U-53 Commander Hans Rose made an unannounced visit to the Commandant of the United States Second Naval District in Newport Harbor. America had not yet entered WWI. After the visit, during which Rose gave the American Navy and members of the press tours of his U-boat, he set to sea. The next day, U-53 sank five ships south of Nantucket. Powerless to retaliate, the Americans could only watch as the Strathdene (UK), Christian Knudsen (Norway), West Point (UK), Bloomersdijk (Netherlands), and Stephano (UK) were blown to the depths by German torpedoes and artillery.
The remains of four of the five U-53 victims were located in the 1990s by shipwreck hunter and friend of D/V Tenacious, Captain Eric Takakjian, but the locations far offshore and the state of dive technology rendered the ships largely unexplored until the summers of 2017 and 2018 when the D/V Tenacious team dived the wrecks and confirmed which was which. Joe Mazraani, Captain of D/V Tenacious and Captain Takakjian continued to collaborate on this project and the team used information about the existing wrecks, alliances with local fishermen, and historical data to pinpoint the West Point’s final resting place.
“Finding new shipwrecks is a team effort that extends beyond our sonar technicians and divers. Fisherman Steve Cannizzio was an important part of the team who collaborated with us on this exciting discovery,†said Mazraani. “We are pleased to complete the story of Hans Rose’s daring raid in American waters with the discovery of his fifth victim.â€
D/V Tenacious Side Scan Sonar Operator Joseph St. Amand, who was instrumental in the discovery, located the wreck on the morning of September 9, 2020 and divers immediately took to the water. “The feeling of seeing the West Point for the first time is indescribable. The wreck is massive yet remarkably undisturbed,†said St. Amand who, along with Mazraani, was one the first people to lay eyes on the West Point since she sank more than 100 years ago. “It’s amazing we found it, and there is not a better group of people to have found it with than the Tenacious crew.â€
The West Point, a British cargo steamer from the Furness Withy Line, was built in 1912. In addition to obtaining sonar images of the ship, the September 2020 Expedition Team members dived the wreck to confirm her identity. The ship’s size, type, her propulsion machinery, bridge equipment, and location enabled the team to make a positive identification.
The team made three search trips for the West Point in 2020. Team members include: John Copeland, Andrew Donn, Michael Dudas, Steve Gatto, Joe Mazraani, Mark Nix, Jack Lawniczuk, Christopher Ogden, Tom Packer, Jennifer Sellitti, Christopher Shannon, Joseph St. Amand, and Tom Zajac.