Underwater Metal News

Scuba divers have found the largest cache of gold coins ever discovered in Israel working on wreck site in the ancient harbor of Caesarea on the country's Mediterranean coast, reports the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA). The treasure trove of 2,000 coins weighs more than 20 pounds and dates back more than 1,000 years to the era of Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa from 909 to 1171. “It is probably the shipwreck of an official treasury boat which was on its way to the central government in Egypt with collected taxes…

Jack W Fisher, president of JW Fishers Mfg. passed away at home after a brief illness on February 20, 2015. He was 73 years old. The JW Fishers business was started because Fisher, an avid diver, needed an underwater metal detector to use on a salvage project in the mid 1960s. He discovered there was no such device available. Over the next several years he designed and constructed his own underwater metal detector. JW Fishers Mfg. was formed and Jack began building and selling his detectors to other divers.

Steven Libert, president of the Great Lakes Exploration Group, announced he has located what is believed to be the remains of Le Griffon, the first European ship to have sailed the upper Great Lakes. The 45-ton barque carrying seven cannons was built by the legendary French explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle who was attempting to establish a Northwest Passage through Canada. La Salle wanted to provide a faster way to connect France with its trading partners in the Far East and Le Griffon was to be a vital link in the route between Niagra and Illinois.

Many government agencies and public safety dive teams are adding underwater search equipment to help make their operations easier, safer, and faster. Maricopa Sheriffs Department in Arizona, Downe Township Fire Rescue in New Jersey, the Fairhaven Massachusetts Harbor Master and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are a few of the diverse group of agencies using metal detectors, video cameras and sonars in their underwater search operations. Deputy Jeff Hanson, leader of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department dive team…

Police departments & sheriff’s offices around the country are adding underwater metal detectors (UMD) to their crime-fighting armory. An essential tool for locating evidence disposed of in a waterway, metal detectors routinely assist police divers in finding weapons, shell casings, stolen objects, and explosive devices, inform JW Fishers. One group having great success with the underwater metal detector is Houston County Rescue in Webb, Alabama. Team members are highly trained public safety divers that provide assistance to law enforcement…

Underwater metal detector is successfully used for the African Slave Wrecks Project. In October 1619 the naval warship Warwick sailed into the King’s Castle Harbour in Bermuda with an important cargo from England; the colony’s new governor, Captain Nathaniel Butler. After taking on provisions the Warwick was to travel onto the struggling colony at Jamestown, Virginia, but it never made the voyage. Before the ship could sail, Bermuda was hit by a fierce hurricane. Battered by strong winds the Warwick broke free from her anchors…

Many universities are adding or expanding their underwater archaeology programs in an effort to give students a broader educational experience and a better understanding of our maritime history. The field of underwater archaeology is expanding rapidly as the equipment required for marine exploration becomes more affordable, and more scientists and researchers learn to scuba dive. Indiana University (IU) Bloomington has one of the oldest academic diving programs in the country.

Subsea Engineering in Santiago, Chile is one of many South American enterprises and military establishments adding ROVs in an effort to expand their operational capabilities. The company offers a complete package of design and construction services including the building of pipelines and installation of submarine power and communications cables. Owner Pedro Campos is a certified Naval and Marine Engineer, and a member of the International Association of Diving Contractors. Campos says “performing underwater operations in my country is complex and challenging.

Randive, a commercial diving company based in New Jersey, is employing underwater metal detectors in their search and salvage operations. The company was founded in 1959 by Randor Erlandson, and in the early days focused primarily on the needs of the maritime industry around the ports of New York and New Jersey. In the decades since, the company has greatly expanded its operations increasing its staff to 16, and adding as its clients some of the largest shipping companies in the world.

ZF Marine announced that they are now the North American distributor for Velox Plus antifouling paint. Well known by mariners worldwide, Velox Plus is an antifouling paint specifically designed to be used on underwater metal. Previously unavailable in North America, Italian based Marlin yacht paints have appointed ZF Marine LLC as the North American distributor for this product. Underwater marine growth is a common problem for vessel owners. While hull coatings have been designed to limit growth on the hull itself, the underwater fittings and shaftline have been exposed to marine growth, increasing drag, increasing fuel burn and potentially reducing engine life due to increased loading by a fouled shaftline.

The security of many countries is being threatened from sources within and outside of their borders. For the lawman, having the right tools in his crime fighting arsenal is often critical to an operation's success. Today, a new set of high tech tools help law enforcement agents perform underwater searches safer, and more effectively, than ever before. In their investigative operations police routinely search for weapons used in the commission of crimes, hunt for drowning victims, and survey underwater structures looking for smuggled goods or explosives. For the police diver, one of his most effective weapons is the underwater metal detector. Used in evidence recovery operations, these detectors have been directly responsible for putting many criminals behind bars.