Buzz
There are approximately 3 million shipwrecks scattered across the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers, according to an astonishing estimate from UNESCO. While many wrecks are where you'd expect, such as the WWII wreck sites in the West Pacific and North Atlantic, others are found in unexpected locations, like the Namibian desert or under Kansas' cornfields. Even New York City holds its own surprise: following the 9/11 attacks, excavators uncovered a 1773 shipwreck beneath the debris, dating the ship by examining the rings in its wooden planks.
Like movie stars, some shipwrecks achieve fame. The Titanic, Lusitania, and Endurance all have their own films, books, fan clubs, museum exhibits, and products. However, there is another category of wrecks—those that are missing, forgotten, and quietly, yet incredibly, valuable.
Some of these wrecks have been lost for centuries, their treasures potentially worth millions, or even billions. According to famed wreck hunter David Mearns, the secret to finding them isn’t about painstakingly combing the seabed but rather about researching every aspect of the ship, from its construction to its final voyage and any eyewitness accounts. As Mearns shared with me during an interview for my new book, Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic, anyone can begin their quest from home.
Here are six of the most valuable and culturally significant shipwrecks still waiting to be found around the world.
1. Flor de la Mar // 1511
In 1502, the Flor de la Mar was the cornerstone of Portugal’s naval might. Essentially a ship designed for looting, it sailed between Portugal and destinations like Ormuz (now in Iran), Malacca (Malaysia), and Goa (India), delivering weapons and troops to colonized regions while returning with treasures such as gold and other valuables. In 1511, after a successful mission to Malacca, it sank near Sumatra during a storm, carrying 400 men and an immense cargo of gold—some believe worth more than $2 billion today.
If the century-old rumors are accurate, the Flor de la Mar could be the most valuable shipwreck ever. However, there’s a complication: the ship’s high-value cargo has led to competing claims from Portugal, Malaysia, and Indonesia over the treasure, leaving a much smaller share for the lucky explorer who discovers it.
2. S.S. Waratah // 1911
The S.S. Waratah was a British passenger ship often compared to Australia’s Titanic, but it set sail in 1908, four years before the infamous Titanic. It could carry 750 passengers and 150 crew members and completed one round-trip voyage from London to Sydney. On its second voyage, however, the ship was said to be overweight and had a history of small fires caused by an uninsulated boiler. It disappeared near Cape Town, South Africa, in a notorious shipwreck area known for its treacherous waters, severe weather, and rocky reefs.
The Waratah became more infamous due to its similarities to the Titanic—both ships were considered cutting-edge, designed for the wealthy, and touted as unsinkable. The search for the
3. S.S. Arctic // 1854
The northwest Atlantic showing the position of the collision between the Arctic and Vesta in 1854 | Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainLaunched in 1850, the Arctic was a fast, luxurious vessel capable of crossing the Atlantic in just 10 days. The ship was privately funded with a substantial subsidy from the U.S. government, aiming to help the American Collins Line compete with Britain’s Cunard Line. After four years of service, the Arctic collided with the French steamer Vesta off the coast of Newfoundland in 1854 (not far from where the Titanic would later sink while traveling in the opposite direction). The disaster claimed nearly 300 lives, compounded by the horrifying fact that the crew had abandoned the inadequate number of lifeboats, leaving all the women and children aboard to perish.
The tragedy of the Arctic shattered the long-held belief—later debunked by a 2012 study as mostly a myth—that women and children are typically the first to be rescued. In reality, they are often the last, if they’re saved at all. Despite the shameful and preventable nature of this disaster, no formal inquiry was conducted in the U.S. or UK, and neither the ship nor its lost passengers have ever been located.
4. Merchant Royal // 1641
The most valuable wreck ever recovered was the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon so loaded with gold that it took two months to distribute the treasure evenly before setting sail in 1622. When it was discovered by the flamboyant wreck-hunter Mel Fisher in 1985 off the Florida Keys, the gold was valued between $400 and $450 million.
However, the Atocha’s treasure would be overshadowed by that of the Merchant Royal, an English ship thought to be carrying 100,000 pounds of gold—worth over $1 billion today. The ship sank somewhere near the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall, England. In 2007, a professional salvage team working under the codename Black Swan Project believed they had found it. Their recovery was a disappointing $500 million, far below their expectations of more than double that amount, raising doubts about the ship’s true identity. The wreck was later determined to likely be the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a galleon that sank in 1804. This means the Merchant Royal and its vast fortune may still be resting somewhere near Land’s End, England, waiting to be uncovered.
5. Santa María // 1492
The famous trio—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María—carried Christopher Columbus on his historic voyage to Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti) in 1492. However, only the first two ships made it back to Spain.
According to reports from the voyage, tensions arose between Columbus and Juan de la Cosa, a cartographer and the Santa María’s on-board master. The situation reached a breaking point when the Santa María ran aground near Hispaniola on Christmas Day 1492. Columbus blamed de la Cosa for the mishap and even considered asking the queen to charge him with treason and abandonment of the ship. (She didn’t.) The ship was lost, and it has never been recovered.
Because of its immense cultural significance, explorers have launched multiple expeditions to find the Santa María. In 2014, one archaeologist believed he had pinpointed its location, but UNESCO rejected the discovery, stating that the ship was from a later period based on its copper fastenings, which weren’t used during Columbus’s time.
6. Amelia Earhart’s Airplane // 1937
One of the 20th century’s most enduring mysteries isn’t about a shipwreck, but an airplane lost at sea. Aviator Amelia Earhart made history time and again with her groundbreaking flights across the Atlantic and as the first person to fly solo between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. But in 1937, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, her plane—carrying herself and navigator Fred Noonan—disappeared in the Pacific. Earhart and Noonan were declared lost at sea and presumed dead, yet the wreckage of their plane has never been found.
For decades, explorers have yearned to uncover the wreckage, hoping it could reveal Earhart’s remains and finally solve the century-old mystery of what truly happened. In 2017, National Geographic teamed up with Bob Ballard, the man who discovered the Titanic, to gather conclusive proof. Using radio and logbook data, Ballard and his team focused their search on the waters off the small Pacific island of Nikumaroro. However, DNA testing of samples from the site yielded no definitive results, and the mystery of Earhart’s disappearance continues.
