A new study published in the Journal of Maritime Archeology links a shipwreck found near the coast of Kenya to explorer Vasco da Gama’s final voyage. Indeed, this is one of eight known Portuguese shipwrecks from this specific time period found in the area.
Researchers believe this specified shipwreck is the Sāo Jorge, Vasco da Gama’s ship, which is known to have sunk in 1524. However, this has not yet been confirmed. The team of researchers currently studying this shipwreck aims to verify the identity of the ship by carrying out an archaeological survey of the coral reef that surrounds the area. It covers roughly 16 miles (25 km).
If this shipwreck turns out to be the Sāo Jorge, this would make it the first European shipwreck in the Indian Ocean.
Who was Vasco da Gama?
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who lived from 1469 to 1524. He was one of the pioneers behind the route from Europe all the way to the Indian Ocean. Perhaps, more notably, he was the first to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and the first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama’s explorations were especially significant, as they laid the foundations for the Portuguese empire’s trade routes through the Indian Ocean.
On his final voyage, Vasco da Gama set sail with a fleet of almost twenty ships. The Sāo Jorge was among them. This new study has revealed that, more likely than not, it was one of two ships that sank near the studied location, with the other being the Nossa Senhora de Graça, which sank in 1544.
The researchers leading the investigation on this shipwreck put out a statement earlier this year saying that, if the ship is confirmed to be the Sāo Jorge, “it would have significant historical and symbolic value as physical testimony to the presence of Vasco da Gama’s third armada in Kenyan waters.”
The shipwreck site might become an underwater museum
Following the discovery of the shipwreck in Maldini off the coast of Kenya, the country’s authorities became interested in the site and are even considering turning it into an underwater museum.
These types of shipwrecks have become sites of interest in the Indian Ocean because, as the research team stated, these are invaluable sites.
Despite the country’s interest in opening up the site to the public, the team behind the study has stated that further archaeological investigations are necessary to determine whether one of Vasco da Gama’s ships is situated at this site.
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