As this blog previously mentioned, scientists have been scouring Lake Michigan for the remains of a French ship said to have been wrecked in the area. Whether it's using an ROV to handle fragile underwater objects or acquiring commercial diving insurance for researchers, proper procedures are required when engaging in underwater expeditions. Now, the piece of evidence found months ago, a giant wooden object that might have been connected to the ship, is going to be tested.
Le Griffon was previously estimated to have crashed centuries ago, and the wood that has been recovered will be X-rayed to determine specific facts about it, like how old it is, which could hold the keys to figuring whether or not the ship really does lie in the lake, according to the Associated Press.
The piece of wood may have been part of the ship and used by the explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier de LaSalle, who is said to have piloted the ship. The expedition's leader, Steve Libert, described the amount of clarity this investigation could potentially bring to their efforts.
"If that piece comes out of the CT scan and it's some 330 years old … there's only one ship it could belong to, and that's the Griffin," he told the press, using the English version of the boat's name.
Diving insurance may be secured for expeditions like this, but if efforts continue on into months of work or longer, it might be important for updated policies to be pursued in order to best keep workers under protection and provided for in the case of some unexpected disaster.