Yorkshire explorer Captain Cook's ship Endeavour is "discovered" off coast of Rhode Island as row ignites over veracity of wreck claims

It set sail on a voyage that still evokes notions of adventure and discovery over 250 years later.

And yesterday Australian maritime archaeologists and historians who have been searching for the wreck of Captain Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour – built and launched in Whitby – said they believe they have discovered it off the coast of America.

They say they have identified the resting place of the vessel, just 500 yards off the coast of Rhode Island.

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The Australian National Maritime Museum said it is “confident” that the vessel is the Endeavour, which was sunk in 1778 during the American War of Independence.

The Australian National Maritime Museum said it is “confident” that the vessel is the Endeavour, which was sunk in 1778 during the American War of Independence.
Pictured: Replica Endeavour arriving in Whitby harbourThe Australian National Maritime Museum said it is “confident” that the vessel is the Endeavour, which was sunk in 1778 during the American War of Independence.
Pictured: Replica Endeavour arriving in Whitby harbour
The Australian National Maritime Museum said it is “confident” that the vessel is the Endeavour, which was sunk in 1778 during the American War of Independence. Pictured: Replica Endeavour arriving in Whitby harbour

It follows a 22-year investigation into a number of 18th century wrecks.

The museum’s chief executive, Kevin Sumption, told reporters in Sydney: “We can conclusively confirm that this is indeed the wreck of Cook’s Endeavour.

“This is an important moment.

“It is arguably one of the most important vessels in our maritime history.”

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But just hours after the announcement, researchers from a different organisation based in Rhode Island questioned the claims, citing them as “premature” and linking them to “Australian emotions and politics.”

The executive director of Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) Dr Kathy Abbass told Guardian Australia: “There are many unanswered questions that could overturn such an identification (of the shipwreck as being the Endeavour).

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“RIMAP’s conclusions will be driven by proper scientific process and not Australian emotions or politics.” She added RIMAP was the lead organisation for the study.

In a statement on the Australian National Maritime Museum website, museum CEO Mr Sumption announced: “It is with great pride that after a 22-year programme of archival and archaeological fieldwork that, based on a preponderance of evidence approach, I have concluded that an archaeological site known as RI 2394, located in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, USA, comprises the shipwreck of HM Endeavour.”

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Since 1999, maritime archaeologists had been investigating several 18th century ships in the underwater site.

The findings, which are the joint work of the Australian National Maritime Museum, RIMAP and the Silentworld Foundation, will now be published and peer-reviewed by archaeologists from around the globe.

“But for now, there’s a lot confidence that Endeavour has finally been found,” Mr Sumption said.

The ship was deliberately sunk in 1778 in Newport Harbour by British forces.

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The sinking came around eight years after its key role in Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific, which saw the captain chartering the New Zealand coast and the east coast of Australia – where it narrowly avoided shipwreck on the Great Barrier Reef.

The discovery of the Endeavour – if confirmed – could ignite a Cook renaissance, one historian has said.

Catherine Warr, who specialises in Yorkshire’s past, said: “Cook represents the spirit of adventure and exploration – going into the unknown with basic equipment to this part of the world that hasn’t been explored before.

“This could reignite interest in Cook – especially in America. It’s a really good potential jumping off point for learning about his life, but also the contributions of Whitby and the Yorkshire coast.”

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