Divers shocked after finding 1856 shipwreck off coast of Massachusetts: ‘Needle in a haystack’

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A team of dedicated researchers were stunned after they recently came face-to-face with a ship that hadn’t been seen in 168 years.
The discovery of the steamship Le Lyonnais was recently announced by Atlantic Wreck Salvage (AWS). AWS, which owns and operates the vessel D/V Tenacious, found the ship off the coast of southeastern Massachusetts.
The ship was built in 1855 and only sailed for a year before sinking on its first return voyage to Le Havre, France, on November 2, 1856. The vessel collided with a ship called the Adriatic, which was scuffed during the collision and sailed away from the scene.
Le Lyonnais was left with a small hole that eventually sank the ship days later. Out of the ship’s 132 passengers and crew, 114 people died – and the few people who survived the wreck were stuck in a lifeboat for a week.
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Researchers recently discovered the remains of the Le Lyonnais shipwreck, which dates back to 1856. (Andrew Donn / Atlantic Wreck Salvage)
Speaking to Fox News Digital, AWS’s Jennifer Sellitti said that it was “difficult to explain” how she felt when her team found the ship. She and her partner Joe Mazraani had been searching for the vessel for eight years.
“For the team, the feeling was a mixture of relief and joy, but there was also a sense of ‘What’s next?’” she explained. “For me, personally, I have spent so long trying to learn and tell the stories of the people who sailed aboard Le Lyonnais that finding her felt like closure – like a way to help those who died so long ago to finally rest in peace.”
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A portion of Le Lyonnais’ engine cylinder was observed during the search. (Andrew Donn / Atlantic Wreck Salvage)
Sellitti, who works as a New Jersey public defender in addition to operating D/V Tenacious, added that she was always positive that the wreck still existed – but did have doubts about whether she and her team would find it.
“The North Atlantic is notoriously brutal to shipwrecks,” she said. “Storms, currents, shifting sands, and fishing gear can rip these wrecks apart. Many old wrecks are completely buried by the ocean over time.”
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Le Lyonnais was located in waters off the coast of Massachusetts. (Jennifer Sellitti / Atlantic Wreck Salvage)
“The Nantucket Shoals often make it difficult to find shipwrecks because the bottom geology can mask them on sonar records,” Sellitti added. “We were also concerned that, when we found her, she would be off the Continental Shelf in more than a thousand feet of water.”
The shipwreck enthusiast added that the story of Le Lyonnais is more than just a shipwreck. Her forthcoming book, which is called “The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket,” delves into detail about the shipwreck and will be released in February.
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“The 1850s was the time when ships were transitioning from sail to steam,” Sellitti explained. “That transition caused merchants and insurers and nations around the world to grapple with issues like what happens when a sailing vessel and a steam powered vessel meet at sea, who is responsible when ships from different countries collide, and what laws apply on the high seas.”
It took the Atlantic Wreck Salvage team over eight years to discover the shipwreck.  (Jennifer Sellitti / Atlantic Wreck Salvage)
Though Sellitti said that the ship has “not survived well,” she is looking forward to fully documenting the wreckage, which will likely take years.
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“Shipwrecks are remnants of bygone eras,” the maritime expert said. “They are frozen moments in time that connect us to history in a way that stories alone cannot.”
Andrea Vacchiano is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. You can follow her on X at @andrea_vacch or send story tips to [email protected].