Look around mystery shipwreck diver stumbled on in the Thames estuary | UK News

A diver has unearthed a mysterious wooden shipwreck by Southend.

The wreckage was discovered in a patch of the Thames estuary, where the Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, on the morning of September 11.

Steven Ellis, 58, alongside his wife Carol and crewmates were checking out an ‘uncharted’ patch of the estuary by Southend Pier when the remains dinged on the boat’s echo sounder.

Given that the estuary is flat and generally quite ‘bland’, it’s hard to miss anything poking out of the riverbed – let alone a shipwreck, Steven tells Metro.co.uk.

‘It’s exciting because if they’re uncharted waters, you don’t know what it could be,’ the retiree says.

‘It’s the fun part of diving – it could be really special or could just be a mundane wreck.’

‘No treasure chests yet,’ Steven says, adding: ‘It could be Roman, some old fishing boat. We just don’t know yet until we further investigate it.’

Though the Romans weren’t exactly known for their rifles. Steven, a former fishmonger, says he found a ‘small number of spent British 303 bullet casings’ in the boat.

First introduced in 1888, the chunky bullet cartridge was a staple of British army rifles throughout World War One and World War Two up until the 1950s.

But Steven isn’t placing his bets just yet. After all, the currents and tides of the Thames – a winding stretch of river that flows through the historic city of London – have a habit of dumping all sorts into the estuary.

‘I have positions in the Thames of 400 shipwrecks – there is a Roman wreck out there,’ he says.

Footage from the site shows loose, wispy timbers fraying off of the sand and rust-covered wreckage.

While brackish water still may seem murky to most it was crystal clear by a diver or ship hunter’s standard, Steven says, given that it’s typically ‘pitch black and full of mud’.

He got a good look at the surface-exposed timbers and is already planning to return to the site and then look through the archives to work out what the vessel was.

Steven, a licensed diver from Leigh-on-Sea who grew up around boats, is no stranger to the waters off of Southend, a coastal town 40 miles east of London.

He has long ducked his head below the water to visit The London, a 17th-century warship which sank in 1665 but only rediscovered in 2005.

An estimated 300 people drowned went the ship mysteriously exploded on a journey along the coast to Gravesend.

Since he began diving in The London in 2010, being able to explore the shipwreck has been a ‘dream come true’.

He and Carol have salvaged thousands of artefacts from the wreckage, many of which are now on display in the National Maritime Museum.

‘I could’ve said I was the curator,’ he jokes. ‘One archaeologist told me I seem to know every nook and cranny (of the London).’

Wary of getting older and the toll diving can take, Steven says he worked to retire early so he and his wife can ‘do more of what we love’.

‘You never know what’s going to come up on the sounder,’ he adds, ‘it’s always worth investigating.’

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