Alaska issues permit for archaeological work on sunken ship
Historic photo of Steamship Islander of the Canadian Pacific Navigation Co. leaving Vancouver, BC for Skagway Bay in 1897. Photo by Thomas McNabb Jones. Source: Library and Archives of Canada. Public domain image in the USA.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The state has issued a permit allowing for archaeological work at the site of a sunken Gold Rush-era ship in southeast Alaska.
This comes months after a federal judge approved a recovery plan for the SS Islander by Kent, Wash.-based Ocean Mar Inc.
The permit application was filed earlier this month by an archaeologist under contract with Ocean Mar. It lists August as the start of the proposed work and the Alaska State Museum as the proposed repository of collected items.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the application and project proposal through a public records request.
State Archaeologist Dave McMahan says he’s not aware of any other permits that might be needed for work to commence. An attorney for Ocean Mar did not return a message.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Historic photo of Steamship Islander of the Canadian Pacific Navigation Co. leaving Vancouver, BC for Skagway Bay in 1897. Photo by Thomas McNabb Jones. Source: Library and Archives of Canada. Public domain image in the USA.
Headline from the Aug. 19, 1901 ‘San Francisco Call,’ stating Steamship Islander hit an iceberg and had sunk. Alaska State Library image.
