David Mearns
Encyclopedia
David Louis Mearns, born circa 1958, is a United States
-born marine scientist
and deep water search and recovery expert, long resident in the United Kingdom
. He is famous for locating the wrecks of several ships lost during World War II
. Mearns and his company, Blue Water Recoveries Limited, are in the Guinness World Records
for the deepest shipwreck ever found, the German blockade runner
Rio Grande, which was located at a depth of 5762 metres (18,904.2 ft).
In 2008, Mearns led a search team to find
the Australian cruiser and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
, which both sank following a mutually destructive engagement off Western Australia in 1941. Prior to finding HMAS Sydney, Mearns said that it was, in some ways, "bigger than the Titanic" because of what it meant to Australia. "Nothing comes close to the Sydney."
At the end of 2010, he successfully led the search for another missing Australian shipwreck, the Hospital Ship Centaur
, which was torpedoed off Queensland by a Japanese submarine in 1943.
On 1 November 2010, Mearns was awarded an honorary Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his discovery of Sydney and Centaur.
He has been responsible for the discovery of over 50 shipwrecks, including:
Mearns also led the 2001 expedition to the ship that sank Hood, the German battleship Bismarck
, which had been found by Robert Ballard
and his team in 1989.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born marine scientist
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
and deep water search and recovery expert, long resident in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He is famous for locating the wrecks of several ships lost during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Mearns and his company, Blue Water Recoveries Limited, are in the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for the deepest shipwreck ever found, the German blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
Rio Grande, which was located at a depth of 5762 metres (18,904.2 ft).
In 2008, Mearns led a search team to find
Search for HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
A search for the wrecks of the Australian warship HMAS Sydney and the German merchant raider Kormoran, that sank each other during World War II, ended successfully in March 2008. On 19 November 1941, the two ships fought a battle in the Indian Ocean, off Western Australia...
the Australian cruiser and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
The German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a Kriegsmarine merchant raider of World War II. Originally the merchant vessel Steiermark, the ship was acquired by the Kriegsmarine following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider...
, which both sank following a mutually destructive engagement off Western Australia in 1941. Prior to finding HMAS Sydney, Mearns said that it was, in some ways, "bigger than the Titanic" because of what it meant to Australia. "Nothing comes close to the Sydney."
At the end of 2010, he successfully led the search for another missing Australian shipwreck, the Hospital Ship Centaur
AHS Centaur
Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943...
, which was torpedoed off Queensland by a Japanese submarine in 1943.
On 1 November 2010, Mearns was awarded an honorary Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his discovery of Sydney and Centaur.
He has been responsible for the discovery of over 50 shipwrecks, including:
- the British battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS HoodHMS Hood (51)HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be... - LuconaLuconaLucona was an old ship sunk in the Indian Ocean in 1977 by a bomb planted by Austrian businessman Udo Proksch, as part of an insurance fraud. Proksch, the owner of the cargo, also then owner of famous Viennese confectioners Demel, claimed US$20 million from his insurance company, saying that the...
, sunk in 1977 by a bomb planted by Udo ProkschUdo ProkschUdo Proksch was an Austrian businessman and industrialist. In 1991, he was convicted of the murder of six people as part of a major insurance fraud. Proksch died in prison....
, as part of an insurance fraudInsurance fraudInsurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions... - DerbyshireMV DerbyshireThe MV Derbyshire was an ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as the last in the series of the Bridge-class sextet. She was registered at Liverpool and owned by Bibby Line....
, an ore-bulk-oil carrierOre-bulk-oil carrierAn Ore-bulk-oil carrier, also known as combination carrier or OBO, is a ship designed to be capable of carrying wet or dry cargoes. The idea is to reduce the number of empty voyages, in which large ships only carry a cargo one way and return empty for another. These are a feature of the larger...
which disappeared in 1980
Mearns also led the 2001 expedition to the ship that sank Hood, the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
, which had been found by Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...
and his team in 1989.
External links
- Blue Water Recoveries (official website)