Wreck of US Warship Known as ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ Found in ‘Exceptional’ Condition
The wreck of the USS Stewart, a US Navy destroyer known as the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific,” has been discovered off the coast of northern California. The discovery was made by a collaborative team including Ocean Infinity, the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, SEARCH, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (HiSAS) and multibeam echosounder systems.
The USS Stewart was laid down in 1919 and served in both the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was damaged in combat, captured by Japanese forces, and later salvaged and repaired by the Japanese. After the war, it was recommissioned into the US Navy and eventually sunk for target practice off the coast of California in May 1946.
The wreck site was found within the boundaries of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, approximately 30 miles from shore. The USS Stewart is largely intact, resting nearly upright on the seafloor at a depth of 3,500 feet. This level of preservation is exceptional for a vessel of its age, making it one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy “four-stacker” destroyer known to exist.
