Wreck put on film
HMS Breadalbane supply ship remains mostly unchanged under Arctic waters
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 19, 2014
BEECHEY ISLAND
A beam of a light cuts through icy Arctic waters to reveal the wooden hull of a merchant ship that sunk near Beechey Island in 1853.
Marine plants blanket the HMS Breadalbane, marking the ocean's claim on the broken boat.
Canadian Armed Forces personnel revisited the national historic site during Operation Nunalivut 2014.
Working with Parks Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy, they were able to capture footage of the Breadalbane using three remote operated vehicles equipped with scanning sonar plus high definition and standard definition video capabilities.
Scanning sonar allows personnel to gain dimensionally accurate imagery of the wreck to determine site dimensions and how the ship is lying, among other pieces of information.
"What this data can do is it has the potential to tell us a great deal about the ship, its construction, how it may have been modified for its voyage to the Arctic," said Jonathon Moore, Parks Canada senior underwater archaeologist.
The Breadalbane, built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1843, suffered a large gash to its hull after becoming trapped in packed ice in Barrow Strait.
The crew had been sent to Canada's North to supply ships involved in the search for John Franklin's lost expedition.
They unloaded the cargo before the Breadalbane sank.
For Moore, the exploration of the Breadalbane offered a chance to glean more information on the archeology of the ship and its condition.
The last in-depth study of the wreck was done in 1983 and there have been major advancements since then, said Moore.
Preliminary observations suggest the Breadalbane hasn't changed much since then.
"The hull seems to be more or less in the same general condition as it was in 1983 when we had the most complete picture of the wreck. The lower hull is still intact despite an enormous gash," said Moore. "On the upper deck there are some minor changes with some of the planking and some of the more delicate features like the stern cabin. The most significant site change we've detected is both of the masts that were standing in 1983 have now fallen over."
Moore will be reviewing the data from the 20 remote operated vehicle dives and compiling a report with his findings, which he will then submit to the Government of Nunavut along with the raw data. All in all, Moore said, it was a successful operation.
"We were not only able to gather the targeted archaeological information we were looking for, we had a wonderful exchange opportunity. Multiple partners working together for a common objective worked out really well."
