'Ghost Ship' Found Off Haiti

H A L I F A X, Nova Scotia, Aug. 7 -- An expedition headed byParadise Valley, Ariz., author Clive Cussler and Canadian filmproducer John Davis has announced the discovery of the finalresting place of the so-called ghost ship Mary Celeste.

The group said Monday it found the remains of the Mary Celesteon the Rochelois Reef in Haiti. A news conference is scheduledThursday at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax whereCussler, who founded the nonprofit National Underwater and MarineAgency, and James Delgado, director of the Vancouver MaritimeMuseum, will display artifacts and answer questions about thediscovery. The Mary Celeste was found sailing off the Azores in 1872 withno one aboard. The captain, his wife, 2-year-old daughter and crewwere inexplicably missing.

Enigmatic History Comes to an End

"After her eerie abandonment, the ship sailed under differentowners for 12 years, until her last captain loaded her with a cargoof cheap rubber boots and cat food before deliberately sinking herand then filing an exorbitant insurance claim for an exotic cargothat never existed," Davis said. "Unfortunately for the captain,his plan fell apart after running the ship onto the Rochelois Reefin Haiti, the ship hung up on the coral and refused to sink." Insurance inspectors investigated and found the worthless cargo,leading to a conviction against the captain and his first mate forwhat was then known as barraty, Davis said. Cussler said what happened to the original crew of the MaryCeleste may never be known, but the ship's ending is now. "The enigma of the Mary Celeste will continue to haunt us allfor generations to come," he said. "She is a tale that will neverbe forgotten."

Author Helps Find Nearly 70 Wrecks

Cussler, who was written 20 best-selling novels, has helped tolead expeditions that found nearly 70 historic shipwrecks,including the Confederate submarine Hunley and the Carpathia, theship that rescued survivors from the Titanic.