Hudson River Shipwrecks Secretly Mapped

jonerik writes "According to this article in the New York Times (registration required) more than 200 shipwreck sites lying beneath New York's Hudson River have been mapped by sonar. In fact, scientists feel confident that the location of every Hudson shipwreck between Manhattan and Troy has now been pinpointed, adding that the nearly oxygen-free mud of the Hudson nearly guarantees that many of the wrecks and their contents are almost perfectly preserved. The hitch? For the time being the maps - paid for as part of the $186 million Hudson River Estuary Plan - are not being published since state officials are nervous about the prospect of so many shipwrecks suddenly being opened up to salvagers on one of the U.S.'s busiest rivers. 'We don't want to ring the dinner bell for people who have ulterior motives and don't behave responsibly,' says Mark L. Peckham, a historic preservation coordinator at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. In the meantime, state officials are now attempting to determine the historical significance of the wrecks and how they might be protected, which should hopefully lead to the publication of the Hudson River maps at some future date."

Comments

so

[2MuchC0ffeeMan]

they don't want to publish the areas of the shipwrecks, but anyone with the money or power to go dig up ships has some ethics in them.

also, who is to say these ships now 'belong' to the state of NY ? i never understood that, it should be finders keepers.

Re:so

[Joe U]

Who is to say anything below Tarrytown is even property of the state of NY?

The Hudson river is bordered by two states, New York and New Jersey. Does NJ have a say in this as well?

(And No, I'm from NYC)

National Park

[ifreakshow]

The government should make the bottom of the river a national park. This would ensure that the ships are preserved as long as our country. Imagine if the Greeks or Egyptians had done this.

Re:National Park

[JordoCrouse]

Preserving such historical sites is important for future generations.

Unfortunately, we have absolutely no idea how to preserve a ship under water.

In fact, we are sitting around helplessly watching the Titanic and the ships at Pearl Harbor disintegrate (which, BTW is a very bad thing - since the ships at Pearl still have a lot of fuel trapped within them). The only way we can "preserve" a ship is to raise it out of the water, and that can only be done under certain circumstances.

So +10 points for the thought, but -100 for complete inability do to anything about it.

You know...

[Oliver Defacszio]

...you can say what you want about freedom of information, etc, but the saddest part is that this data really would be used destructively by those who would rather have a barge full of salvaged steel than a glimpse into the past.

It's a serious disappointment that society has arrived (not recently) at a state where truly worthwhile information is rightfully withheld because we, as humans, can't treat things with respect.

Wise course

[the_rev_matt]

I think that from a historical significance perspective, this is not a Bad Thing(tm). Allow the museums etc first shot at those wrecks of historical interest before the vultures descend.

Re:Titanic

[f.money]

The Titanic was/is in international waters. The Hudson is in NY state. BIG jurisdictional difference.

Not sure what the right answer to this is, but keeping it under wraps for the time being seems to be the wise course of action.

Jon

Re:Dirty Politicians

[misterhaan]

1) Map Bottom of Hudson River Don't release information to the Public
2) Give "rights to salvage" to political contributors
3) Profit

The crazy thing about politicians is that they do these steps in a different order: 1, 3, then 2 (maybe)