After the invention of the aqualung in 1952, its inventor, Jacques Yves Cousteau and his team explored the waters of Marseilles in the Mediterranean and recovered Greek and Roman urns submerged and unsought for many centuries. A lot of treasure-seekers continuously search the oceans for sunken ships for wealth and fame. According to experts, there are still about three million undiscovered sunken ship sites that remain intact far below the ocean depths. At present, there are an estimated 65,000 sunken ships in North America alone. This fact attracts treasure divers in droves. Sunken ship diving sites have become a tourist attraction in a lot of the worlds oceans. However, sunken ships provide not only treasure but also a glimpse at the rich history of sea faring. Aside from this, ships such as these offer marine animals an ideal breeding and nesting area especially in ocean floors whose resources are scarce.

A lot of sunken ships explored in the recent years have provided a glimpse at the lives of a by-gone era. The Mary Rose, a ship that sailed in the 1500s offered valuable information regarding seafaring, warfare and life itself during that time. The SS Thistlegorm, aside from being an interesting dive spot provide a habitat for many types of marine life and actually supports the oceans ecosystem. And the universal appeal of pirates treasures buried in the ocean together with the sunken ships. Because of the rich history and valuable treasure that may be acquired in sunken ships, more and more organizations are seeking to protect sunken ship sites, however, the fact that these lie on the oceans signifies that no country or no one has jurisdiction over sunken ships. Thus, anyone who has the resources may actually just dive and loot sunken ships. The Sub-Aquatic Cultural Heritage Protection Convention in 2005 ratified stricter measures in preserving and protecting sunken ships which are proven to be rich sources of historical and cultural information.

Sunken ships are actually the remains of a ship that has sunk because of a crisis at sea. The reasons behind the ships sinking vary, of course, and may include equipment failure; capsizing due to the instability of the ship; navigations errors resulting to collision with rocks, ships, reefs or icebergs; bad weather; violence such as wars, mutinies or pirate attacks; and quite ironically, fire.