In July, Bob Ballard's team used remotely operated vehicles aboard the E/V Nautilus to survey 13 World War II wrecks in Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon Islands, including the Japanese destroyer Teruzuki and the shattered bow of the U.S.S. New Orleans.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by Ocean Exploration Trust's own press release and expedition page, plus multiple independent outlets (Military Times, USNI, Seapower, DVIDS) corroborating expedition dates, vessel, method, wreck count, and named wrecks. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=5 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- 6 archaeological discoveries that amazed the world in 2025 (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://nautiluslive.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025-10/NA173%20Summary%20Press%20Release%20(1).pdf (corroboration)
- https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2025/08/05/wwii-shipwrecks-revealed-in-historic-survey-of-ironbottom-sound/ (corroboration)
- https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2025/december/expedition-reveals-13-shipwrecks-guadalcanal-naval-battles (corroboration)
- https://seapowermagazine.org/expedition-reveals-thirteen-shipwrecks-from-wwii-battles-off-guadalcanal/ (corroboration)
- https://nautiluslive.org/cruise/na173 (corroboration)
- https://www.dvidshub.net/news/543218/flagship-imperial-japanese-naval-destroyer-teruzuki-found-iron-bottom-sound (corroboration)