150-year old British shipwreck recovered in Chittagong port

DHAKA: The remains of a 150-year-old sunken ship were recovered from the Chittagong Port channel in the Karnaphuli River on Saturday.

A local company, Hiraman Salvage Limited, recovered the wreckage.The ship was salvaged near Dangarchar Ghat at Chittagong Port following an extensive eight-month recovery operation.Zahid Hussain, Managing Director of Hiraman Salvage, confirmed the matter.

He stated that the vessel might date back to the British era, based on the discovery of period-specific coins and artifacts.The ship’s coal-powered engine, which was used about 150 years ago, further corroborates this estimate.

The artifacts recovered have not yet been examined by experts, he added. Among the recovered items were approximately 150 coins and a variety of copper, brass, and silver artefacts, including plates, pots, glasses, water jugs, spoons, decorative items, and ivory binoculars.These findings indicate that the ship was a British trading vessel that sank in the Karnaphuli River.

Md Zahir, a senior diver on the salvage team, explained that the vessel was found 60 feet underwater and was buried in sand and soil that had hardened into tar.The team used dredging and wire soloing techniques to separate the ship into two parts for recovery.