Vessel off Florida Keys identified as British warship that sank in the 18th century

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A shipwreck that was first found in the ‘90s in the Dry Tortugas National Park off the Florida Keys has now been identified as an 18th-century British warship.

According to a news release last week from the National Park Service, the remains have been identified as HMS Tyger.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The NPS said the ship was built in 1647 and sunk in 1742, running “aground on the reefs of the Dry Tortugas while on patrol in the War of Jenkins Ear between Britain and Spain.”

The site was surveyed in 2021 by archaeologists from Dry Tortugas National Park, the Submerged Resources Center, and the Southeast Archaeological Center and they found “five cannons approximately 500 yards from the main wreck site,” the release said.

In the ship’s logbooks, it was mentioned how the crew “‘lightened her forward’ after initially running aground, briefly refloating the vessel and then sinking in shallow water,” NPS said.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

“Archeological finds are exciting, but connecting those finds to the historical record helps us tell the stories of the people that came before us and the events they experienced,” Park Manager James Crutchfield said in the news release. “This particular story is one of perseverance and survival. National parks help to protect these untold stories as they come to light.”

The ship’s crew members were marooned 66 days on what is now known as Garden Key, the NPS said. Eventually, the crew used makeshift vessels to get to Port Royal, Jamaica, 700 miles away.

The remains of HMS Tyger are the sovereign property of the British Government, NPS said.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.