Underwater Minnesota

USS Essex 2007 Site Survey

Essex site

Essex wreckage

Essex wreckage 2

 

Initial survey

Framework

Copper fastener

Framework

Copper fastener

Framework

Diver on Essex

Framework

Framework

 

Date: 9/1/07

 

In Sept. 2007, MinnesotaShipwrecks.org took part in a brief site survey of the Essex site in conjunction with Maritime Heritage Minnesota (http://www.maritimeheritagemn.org/).

 

Since the 1992 site survey commissioned by the State of Minnesota, the wreckage has exhibited significant deterioration.  There currently is no portion of the wreck visible on the shore, but a portion of the wreck is visible underwater just below the surf line.

 

Portions of the wreck noted in the 1992 survey are now missing due to ice damage and/or vandalism.  It appears that a section of the hull approximately 50 feet in length is intact, with approximately 30 feet exposed at the time of the survey.