Bid to save cargo from Celestia

A local team and one from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have joined forces to rescue items from the Mary Celestia — including bottles of wine with their corks still in place and at least one wooden case, thought to contain more wine.

The cargo in the wreck of the paddle steamer was discovered after storms in January exposed an area of the bow that had been covered over with sand.

Experts fear further storm activity will sweep the artifacts out of the wreck to be lost on the seabed.

Dr Philippe Max Rouja, Bermuda Department of Conservation Services’ custodian of historic wrecks and NOAA director of maritime heritage, will lead the June rescue effort.

He said: “We can speculate that these items were put there, hidden there quite on purpose, representing someone’s private stash of contraband.”

Mysterious

The Mary Celestia sank off the south shore of the island in 1864 as it headed to the Confederate port of Wilmington, North Carolina.

The ship went down in mysterious circumstances while being piloted by Bermudian John Virgin.

The rescue operation will be filmed by LookBermuda, which has followed work on the Mary Celestia for several years.

Derrick Burgess, Minister of Public Works, said: “It is great to be partnering with our American counterparts in this endeavour.

“Everyone is thrilled at the prospect of finding something new and interesting that tells us about both the shipwreck and the American Civil War.

“If the bottles of wine just happen to be full and the case is in good shape and we can identify the maker, then that will just be the icing on the cake.”