Have Australian researchers found the Endeavour, Captain Cook’s legendary ship sunk in 1778?

The Endeavour, the legendary ship on which British explorer James Cook made a historic voyage to Australia and New Zealand between 1768 and 1771, was scuttled in the port of Newport during the American Revolutionary War. Its wreckage had never been located.

“Since 1999 we have been investigating several 18th century wrecks in a two square mile (3.7 square kilometer) area where we believe the Endeavor sank”, said Kevin Sumption, director of the Australian National Maritime Museum, during a press conference on Thursday (February 3rd). “Based on archival and archeological evidence, I am confident it is the Endeavour.” he asserted.

HMB Endeavor has been found! After 22 years of fieldwork, Director & CEO @KevinSumption announces that the remains lies in Newport Harbor, RI, USA.
Explore what role this vessel played in exploration & science: https://t.co/Ly5jSGL2CV
Zak Page & James Hunter #FindingEndeavor pic.twitter.com/5op5XEYW9b

—Australian National Maritime Museum (@seamuseum_) February 3, 2022

But the Rhode Island Marine Archeology Project said it was too early to draw that conclusion. In a statement, the project’s executive director, DK Abbass, said the announcement was a “breach of contract” and added that “findings will be based on proper scientific process and not on Australian emotions or politics”.

A spokesperson for the Australian National Maritime Museum responded that DK Abbass had “the right to have one’s own opinion on the vast amount of accumulated evidence”.

The Endeavor is the ship on which Captain James Cook sailed from England to Tahiti and then New Zealand before reaching Australia in 1770 and mapping the east coast of the continent. When it sank in Newport Harbor in August 1778, the ship had been renamed Lord Sandwich and was being used by the British to hold prisoners of war during the American Revolution.

The British scuttled the ship, along with four others, to prevent a French fleet from entering Newport harbor to support the Americans. This was a few months before Cook’s death in Hawaii in February 1779.

After two centuries at the bottom of the harbor, only around 15% of the Endeavor remains intact, according to the Australian National Maritime Museum. “The focus now is on what can be done to protect and preserve it”said Kevin Sumption.