Dredging up treasure from sunken ships is an ancient tradition, but, it turns out, some treasure, like per-war steel, is precious for different reasons.

There's a certain romance and mystique associated with shipwrecks when seen as ancient artifacts hiding in the gloom.

Some 1,500 years ago, the Plague of Justinian spread via ships from North Africa to Europe and Asia, killing up to 50 million people.

Two thousand years ago, this ship was crossing the Mediterranean Sea full of its cargo of amphorae -- large terracotta pots which were used in the Roman Empire for transporting wine and olive oil. For some reason, it never made it to its destination.

It would be two years before the first armed American destroyers sailed for Europe. By Joanna Scutts.

The next time you hop on a ferry, take a look at the captain’s bridge. There may not be a human at the helm much longer. Ships around the world are beginning a transformation into autonomous machines, leveraging the same advances in artificial intelligence that are shaking up the automotive world. In 2017, Ugo Vollmer and his friend Clement Renault were working on self-driving cars in Silicon Valley when an article on autonomous shipping caused them to make a sudden change in direction.

After the wreck of a Basque galleon—thought to be the San Juan—was discovered off the coast of Canada, National Geographic wrote about its exploration (July 1985 issue). Now, we revisit the 16th-century ship’s history. By Fernando G. Baptista, Riley D. Champine, Eve Conant, Patricia Healy, Shizuka Aoki, Elijah Lee,

We know how to stop solid minerals converting to a liquid state mid voyage – so why does it still happen? By Susan Gourvenec.

A lot is known about the physics of the liquefaction, yet it's still causing ships to sink.

A Russian Imperial Navy ship that sunk 113 years ago with $130 billion in gold bars and coins was found by explorers, media reports said Wednesday. Dmitry Donskoi was discovered off South Korea’s Ulleungdo Island by Seoul-based maritime salvage company Shinil Group.

A ship’s markings may look like hieroglyphs, but to industry insiders they tell an important story. By Erin Van Rheenen .

A recording salvaged from three miles deep tells the story of the doomed “El Faro,” a cargo ship engulfed by a hurricane. By William Langewiesche.

American sailors on the USS Ronald Reagan were exposed to radiation from Fukushima. Many are sick. Some have died. Why can’t they get justice? By Linda Pentz Gunter.

Pride of Queen Anne’s navy took Henry VIII’s Regent down with it in explosion off the coast of Brest

Watch the Halifax Explosion re-created 100 years later in 360-degree animation

The ocean is a big place, which makes it a pretty difficult thing to wrap our brains around. It covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface, is home to millions of species of life, and it makes up 97% of all water on the planet. But, with this massive size and ubiquity also comes a significant challenge for humans interested in trade: it must be constantly traversed in order for us to move goods around.

The first step is acknowledging that in a standoff, it could lose, and badly. By Harry J. Kazianis.

The top 10 longest superyacht on the planet. Check out our list of these incredible floating palaces and see what the billionaire class spends its money on

The 700-year-old shipwreck was found at a construction site in China, buried beneath silt and mud. It may have sank after being hit and taking on water. By Owen Jarus.

The world's busiest shipping lanes have twice as many bolts of lightning as nearby areas, and ships pumping soot into the air seem to be responsible. By Lakshmi Supriya.