Transcript of the facebook post:

Excited to share these side scan sonar images (showing above) of the 390'-long freighter SS MAIDEN CREEK, marking the first time she has been seen since foundering in a winter storm 78 years ago with the loss of 25 brave US merchant mariners. Long suspected to lie in depths accessible to technical divers and maritime historians, the location of the MAIDEN CREEK has been much sought after, including by us over the past 12 years.

Resting on the downslope of the continental shelf at a depth approaching 1,000', the wreck was a significant challenge to reach with a boat-towed system, but worthwhile to image and measure in order to verify its identity and document its condition. We were pleasantly surprised with the deep-water performance of our new custom sonar system and the leap forward in capabilities that it represents (thanks again to project partners DeepVision, Mercury Wire and B&B Precision).

We also owe a debt of gratitude to fishing sources that provided intel for this mission. They told us of a wreck that they had located by sifting through the logs of deep-water trawlers, which contain locations of underwater obstructions encountered by their nets. When viewed on the fishermen's fish finder, the wreck appeared to have significant relief above the bottom, leading them to suspect it could be the MAIDEN CREEK. We're happy to confirm their theory today with 95%+ confidence based on wreck site's location, layout, measurements and historical records, and we credit them with the discovery.

The MAIDEN CREEK is one of 110 standardized "Design 1022" ships that were built during World War I by American International Shipbuilding at Hog Island Shipyard, Pennsylvania. She operated as a commercial freighter during the interwar years until being requisitioned by the US Army upon the outbreak of World War II. Late December 1942 found her with a convoy of 15 ships bound for New York from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tragically, though she was fast enough to be capable of beating an approaching storm to safe harbor, she was limited to the speed of the slowest vessel in the convoy, and thus became caught in the storm. As she labored in heavy seas, she began taking on water and her superstructure started icing up, which weighed her down and caused her to settle lower in the water. The captain gave the order to abandon ship at approximately 6:30pm on December 31, 1942 and the crew of 56 men took to lifeboats. Thirty one of them endured a hellish 73-hour ordeal in the icy, wind-swept waters until they were spotted by a search plane and rescued by another ship, the SS STAGHOUND. Tragically, the remaining 25 perished.

Today the MAIDEN CREEK rests upright on the bottom in relatively well-preserved condition. Her bow stands proud of the bottom by 35' and her bridge has over 40' of relief. A break in her hull between holds #4 and #5 separates the wreck into two sections spaced approximately 80' apart. Her masts no longer stand, presumably knocked down by trawlers, and at least one net is visible in these images. Many large and small fish currently call her home.

One other Design 1022 "Hog Islander" freighter is known to have been lost in the offshore waters of Long Island and New Jersey: the CAYRU, which was torpedoed by German u-boat (submarine) U-94 on March 8, 1942. The US Navy reported two positions for the loss of the CAYRU that range from 70 to 140 miles southwest of the wreck we imaged, making the CAYRU an unlikely fit. In contrast, the wreck's location aligns very well with the four sets of coordinates for the MAIDEN CREEK'S last known position that were reported by various sources, as noted by Gary Gentile in his book Shipwrecks of New York. A map/chart is attached to this post.

The wreck's great depth prohibits access by divers with current technology, but it is still worth examining in more detail, both to document it as well as find further proof of its identity. A future project could obtain photographic and/or video evidence through the use of a drop camera, ROV and/or research submarine.