Wreck of German freighter that sank in World War I found off Chile

A ship operated by US-based Seabourn Cruise Line recently discovered the wreckage of a German freighter that sank nearly 110 years prior off the coast of Chile.

The expedition cruise ship Seabourn Pursuit was conducting a submarine dive off the coast of Alejandro Selkirk Island in Chile's Juan Fernández Archipelago when it discovered the wreckage of the freighter Titania lying on the seabed on Monday, October 14.

The discovery marks the first sighting of Titania since it was scuttled in 1914. The discovery was made possible through the Seabourn submarine exploration team's research and close coordination with local communities.

Led by Submarine Pilot Mauricio Fernandez, the team worked with a local fisherman, Gino Perez, who had long heard stories about Titania's approximate location. Perez joined the dive and helped guide the team toward the suspected site of the wreck.

Under ideal weather conditions, the team discovered Titania 95 metres deep about 4.25 nautical miles off the northwest coast of Selkirk. After the discovery, the island's harbour master confirmed that no other diver or submarine had ever visited the wreck before.

Titania was scuttled on November 19, 1914, and stories of the wreck passed down through generations. While fishermen occasionally discovered metal fragments in their lobster traps that they believed belonged to the vessel, the wreck had never been officially located until earlier this week.

The discovery took place during one of Seabourn Pursuit's South Pacific voyages which traversed more than 3,000 nautical miles between Melanesia, French Polynesia and San Antonio, Chile.