The Navy Times recently reported on a salvage effort that will take place this summer and recover the wreck of a Confederate ship dating back to the Civil War. According to the source, the five-part excavation is scheduled to take place over two months. The total scope of the vessel recovery will also include artifacts and weapons found at the site.
This ship, the CSS Georgia, is an "Ironclad," and is specifically being undertaken as part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. It dates back to 1864 and was built in 1862: it was already leaking before it was sunk by Union forces. The divers will use various tools to extract the ship's remains, including hydraulics and underwater vacuum systems.
Navy Diver 2nd Class Jonny Pounders told the source that being involved with this project is an honor, and that raising the ship will likely not be easy.
"It's a great honor for me personally," he said. "It's a huge part of history, it's a tragic part of history. I think it's good that we remember things like this, and that the nation, parts of the nation or whoever gets to see this, remember that these things happen, and we can always learn from something like that."
The salvage operation will include a team of 20 divers as well as ordinance disposal divers, who will have to work on the edge of the shipping channel. According to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the shipping channel expansion is expected to cost more than $700 million, but could lead to more than $170 million every year due to the cost of the improvements.
For worldwide coverage, Fisk Marine Insurance offers subsea and offshore equipment policies, which can include those times when the dive equipment is on land and not in use.