Brazil
Arembepe II was found around 2014 by spearfishers, who called it the "tugboat", and was given its name by the divers who documented it. On the first dive, in January 2023, it became clear that this was not a modern tugboat but a much older ship, built of wood and driven by sail. It was probably a patacho, barque, barquentine or schooner, about 40 m long, with three masts and a wooden hull possibly sheathed in copper.
Searches in Bahian newspapers of the period found no record of the sinking. The bow points to 265°, which leads to the assumption that the ship was heading to Salvador or leaving it. No human remains were seen, nor the lifeboats attached to the davits, and everything indicates that crew and passengers survived in the boats.
Today, standing out in the wreckage is a two-burner cast-iron stove, about 1 m long, on the starboard side near the bow, regarded as the "signature" of the wreck. A pile of ballast stones measuring 20 x 13 m, estimated at 150 tonnes, dominates the centre of the wreckage, and there are also three admiralty anchors. The masts, fallen to port, and the wooden rudder are heavily consumed by marine life. In November 2025, two minke whales accompanied the divers throughout their entire decompression.
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