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🇩🇰 Denmark /Culture & Society

Denmark and India Launch Joint Search for 400-Year-Old Shipwreck

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Denmark and India will jointly search for the 400-year-old wreck of the Danish ship "Øresund."
  • The ship, which sank in 1619 off the coast of Karaikal, India, was the first Danish vessel to sail to Asia.
  • The non-invasive archaeological investigation will use advanced technology to locate the wreck, providing insight into early maritime connections.

Denmark and India are embarking on a joint expedition to find the wreck of the "Øresund," a Danish ship that sank in 1619 off the coast of Karaikal in southern India. The vessel holds historical significance as the first Danish ship to reach Asia, and its discovery is expected to illuminate early maritime relations between the two nations.

The search, set to begin in September, will be conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India in collaboration with researchers from the National Museum of Denmark. The project is described as a "non-invasive archaeological investigation," utilizing advanced technologies and scientific methods to locate potential remnants of the ship.

Finding the wreck of the ship Øresund will be a unique opportunity to tell about the Danish and Indian relations that began with this very ship and its crew. The ship itself is a time capsule, which not only constitutes ship timber and cargo but becomes a symbol of Christian IV's dreams of trade with distant regions.

— Anders Kallmeyer BlochAnders Kallmeyer Bloch, marine archaeologist at the National Museum's research center Njord, commented on the significance of the potential discovery.

Anders Kallmeyer Bloch, a marine archaeologist at the National Museum's research center Njord, highlighted the unique opportunity the wreck presents. "Finding the wreck of the ship Øresund will be a unique opportunity to tell about the Danish and Indian relations that began with this very ship and its crew," he stated in a press release. "The ship itself is a time capsule, which not only constitutes ship timber and cargo but becomes a symbol of Christian IV's dreams of trade with distant regions."

Despite its historical importance, surprisingly little is known about the "Øresund." Benjamin Asmussen, a maritime historian at Njord, noted the absence of drawings, images, or crew lists. The ship is described as a yacht, identified through Dutch sources. The collaborative effort between Denmark and India, formalized in a cultural exchange program for 2022-2026, aims to bring this lost piece of history to light.

There are neither drawings, pictures, crew lists, nor anything else. The ship's type is a yacht, which we know from Dutch sources.

— Benjamin AsmussenBenjamin Asmussen, maritime historian at Njord, described the limited existing knowledge about the ship.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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