'Valuable' Undersea Discovery: Previously Unknown Shipwreck Found By Chance on Baltic Sea Floor, Officials Say

Ignitis Renewables, a subsidiary of Lithuanian state-owned energy company Ignitis Group, which specializes in sustainable energy, recently made an unexpected discovery while conducting a seafloor survey in the Baltic Sea for a wind farm project: an unidentified shipwreck.

According to Ignitis, the sunken vessel, measuring approximately 230 feet in length and standing 20 feet tall, was found submerged in about 125 feet of water in an area of the Baltic Sea that had not been extensively studied before.

This discovery was not previously recorded in any databases, prompting Ignitis Renewables to promptly inform the relevant authorities of the find.

"After receiving information about the found ship, we informed the responsible authorities of the country, [and] this find was not recorded in the databases," said Paulius Kalmantas, communication partner at Ignitis Renewables. "We believe that the collected extremely high-quality data will be valuable to the country's scientific community and historians."

The survey area covered approximately 75 miles of the seabed, where less than 20 shipwrecks have been officially registered.

Ignitis Group shared news of the discovery on social media, expressing their commitment to collaborating with experts to uncover more details about the ship.

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They emphasized the importance of sharing the comprehensive seabed information not only for their wind power park project, but also with the Lithuanian scientific community.

Augustina Kurilienė, an official from Lithuania's ministry of culture, indicated that the decision to officially register the shipwreck would depend on the results of the ongoing research.

The ministry disclosed that only 19 shipwrecks in Lithuanian waters are currently registered.