Ghost Wrecks of the Blue Pacific

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Intersection Between Natural and Cultural Heritage and the Pressing Threats to Both", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Spread across the Blue Pacific are more than 3,800 shipwrecks resulting from WWII and the nuclear testing programs across the region. Containing significant quantities of petrochemicals and ordnance, over the past 75+ years, these potentially polluting wrecks (PPWs) have deteriorated, with the risk of oil and chemical spills increasing as corrosion leads to structural collapse.

Working with partners across the region, the Major Projects Foundation has initiated a program of survey and assessment targeting the highest risk PPW. Work has been undertaken in Chuuk Lagoon, in the Federated States of Micronesia, host to the largest concentration of ‘high-environmental risk’ PPWs in the Pacific Region, as well as the PPWs located within the Bikini Atoll World Heritage Area.

This presentation discusses this work as a strategy to address the toxic legacies of WWII and nuclear testing and their enduring impact on the marine ecosystems, cultures and livelihoods of the Blue Pacific.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Intersection Between Natural and Cultural Heritage and the Pressing Threats to Both   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow