Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
NOAA and partners hosted a briefing to provide the media with a preview of the upcoming Valor in the Atlantic Telepresence Expedition. The mission will document the USS Monitor and other notable shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast that represent our nation’s naval innovation from the Civil War to World War II. This will be the first in-depth multidisciplinary survey of the Monitor since NOAA and the Navy recovered the iconic ship’s gun turret in 2002.
From May 15 through May 25, 2022, the public can tune in as NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary partners with the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology to conduct the expedition. The mission will use state-of-the-art underwater drones and other technologies to explore historic shipwrecks within and surrounding Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, and understand the role they now play as living reefs. With NOAA Ship Nancy Foster as the research platform, the expedition will be live-streamed in real time to the public.
Valor in the Atlantic: Diving into Maritime History
sanctuaries.noaa.gov/live/2022/gfoe.html
NOAA and partners hosted a briefing to provide the media with a preview of the upcoming Valor in the Atlantic Telepresence Expedition. The mission will document the USS Monitor and other notable shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast that represent our nation’s naval innovation from the Civil War to World War II. This will be the first in-depth multidisciplinary survey of the Monitor since NOAA and the Navy recovered the iconic ship’s gun turret in 2002.
From May 15 through May 25, 2022, the public can tune in as NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary partners with the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology to conduct the expedition. The mission will use state-of-the-art underwater drones and other technologies to explore historic shipwrecks within and surrounding Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, and understand the role they now play as living reefs. With NOAA Ship Nancy Foster as the research platform, the expedition will be live-streamed in real time to the public.
Valor in the Atlantic: Diving into Maritime History
sanctuaries.noaa.gov/live/2022/gfoe.html

![Montana Wreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The Montana was originally a swift package freighter operated by the New York Central Railroad’s Western Transit Company. In 1909, she was rebuilt as a lumber carrier. En route from Detroit to Georgian Bay to load lumber in 1914, it caught fire, burned to the water’s edge, and sank off Thunder Bay’s North Point. Today, the bow is broken open, but many interesting hull features can still be seen at the site. Its engine, boiler, shaft, and propeller are all in place, while the windlass, capstan, and rudder also lie among the wreckage. Dive into the Montana in this Earth Is Blue video!
Learn more: https://thunderbay.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/montana.html
Media Transcript:
[Video of diver swimming underwater, adjacent to shipwreck]
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is full of shipwrecks waiting to be explored.
The wreck of Montana is one dive to remember.
[Historical, black and white photo of the Montana]
A wooden steam barge, Montana served as a package freighter and later as a lumber carrier.
[Historical, black and white photo of Montana at sea]
En route from Detroit to Georgian Bay to load up with lumber in September 1914, it caught fire.
[Historical photo of Montana’s stern]
Burned to the water’s edge, Montana sank off Thunder Bay’s North Point.
[Map of Thunder Bay, with boat icons marking the locations of shipwrecks. A yellow circle appears around the location of the sunken Montana]
The crew were all rescued, and today this vessel rests at a depth of 63 feet.
[Video of diver swimming next to shipwreck]
Today, many interesting features of the ship can still be spotted.
[Video of diver swimming close to shipwreck, holding a camera]
Dive in and see if you can find the engine, boiler, shaft, or propeller of the old Montana wreck.
[Screen fades to black. Text reads: “From May through October, you can visit this buoyed shipwreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. For more information, visit thunderbay.noaa.gov.”] Montana Wreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W3wONHSjAWk/mqdefault.jpg)








