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Unknown Whaling Shipwreck
Kure Atoll

The divers are not yet sure of the identity of the second shipwreck site, but signs indicate that it may be the American whaler, Parker. Of the seven known wrecks at Kure, only two vessels likely correspond to the nature of the scattered artifacts surveyed: the British whaleship Gledstanes, reported lost in 1837, and the American whaleship Parker, wrecked on the reef in 1842.

The survivors of the USS Saginaw wreck in 1870 reported seeing extensive remains of the Gledstanes directly to their north, which does not correspond to the location of this second site.

This second wreck site appears to be the bow section of a mid-19th century whaling vessel. The scour path which leads to the reef, and numerous small magnetometer hits outside the reef indicate an initial impact on the seaward reef slope, followed by large broken sections of the ship being lifted over the crest by the storm and deposited inside the lagoon, dropping artifacts in a trail as they moved.

Within the calm waters of the lagoon lies an extensive scatter of windlass machinery, fasteners, anchors and anchor chain, wire rigging, hull sheathing and bricks. The distribution and style of these elements suggest the wreck of a large wooden hull sailing vessel, a whaling ship, of considerable size. Further work at Kure will be able to solve the question of this wreck’s exact identity. This wreck site lies in State waters and is protected by federal and state preservation laws.

Anchor and equipment debris (Van Tilburg 2002)