MASSACHUSETTS — A French passenger steamship that collided with an American sailing vessel and sunk to the bottom of the ocean in November 1856, killing 114 people, has been found off the coast of Nantucket.
The ship, called Le Lyonnais, was built in 1855 in France as one of six ships to be used in transatlantic passenger and mail service, according to a dive team from D/V Tenacious, which made the discovery.
Le Lyonnais wrecked on Nov. 2, 1856 after colliding with the American sailing vessel Adriatic, killing most of its 132 passengers and crew members. The disaster became something of a legend, being referenced in Jules Verne’s classic novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
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The wreckage lies approximately 200 miles from our launch point at Fleet Marina in New Bedford, MA on the eastern edges of Georges Bank., according to D/V Tenacious’ Facebook page.
“A discovery team from D/V Tenacious first side scanned potential targets in September of 2023 and returned in August of 2024 to dive them, one of which was Le Lyonnais,” D/V Tenacious said.
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The discovery was made on Aug. 23 and 24 but not announced until Wednesday.
“Our team made a total of 13 dives to the wreckage over the course of the two days,” one of the discovery team members, Jennifer Sellitti, told Patch. “On the first dive, the divers noticed hull plating, portholes indicative of a ship Le Lyonnais’ age, and a large engine cylinder. We brought the portholes to the surface to further examine them. The next day, we measured the engine cylinder and found it was an exact match to historical records.”
During the final dive, Joe Mazraani found a dead eye that indicated Le Lyonnais had sails as well as an engine, marking an era when ships were transitioning from sails to steam power.
The ship was identified based on its location, the size of the wreckage, the type of engine, the fact that the ship had sails and a unique type of engine, and a precise engine cylinder measurement, Sellitti said.
She added: “It was not one single thing that identified her but factors adding up one by one. It is much like building a puzzle. When enough of the pieces fit together, you can see the full picture.
Sellitti has written a book called “The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket,” which is set to be released Feb. 28 and will now contain an epilogue covering the details of the discovery.
“I’ve been researching, searching for, and writing a book about this ship and the aftermath of her sinking for the past eight years. Words cannot express how grateful I am to an incredible team of explorers, researchers from around the world, and my friends for their contributions to and support of this project,” Sellitti told Boston Sea Rovers.
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