Endeavour could lie in Newport Harbour

THE WAY SHE WAS: The famous ship used by Captain James Cook during his voyage to New Zealand, Endeavour, is thought to be among 13 ships found at the bottom of a US harbour. The Endeavour replica is pictured in March 2005 when it sailed into Poverty Bay for its second visit. File picture by Paul Rickard

THE SHIP used by Captain James Cook for his voyage to New Zealand may have been found on the bottom of the ocean floor in a US harbour.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) believes it may have discovered the HMS Endeavour in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.

The ship, one of the most famous in naval history, was originally the collier Earl of Pembroke, refitted to be used by Captain Cook on his first voyage of discovery to New Zealand and Australia from 1768 to 1771.

The last sighting of the Endeavour was about 1778, when it was thought to have been sold and its name changed to Lord Sandwich. The ship was then used to transport British soldiers during the American revolution.

Now, more than 230 years after it was sold, the ship might have been discovered along with 12 others during a massive archaeological investigation.

The Daily Mail reports that RIMAP is 80 to 100 percent sure the remains belong to the Endeavour. RIMAP has mapped nine archaeological sites of the 13 ships that were scuttled in Newport Harbour in 1778 during the American Revolution.

One group of five ships includes the Lord Sandwich transport, formerly Endeavour.

In 1998, historical documents hinting at the location of the ship were found by a scientist in a shipping archive.

The documents revealed the ship had been renamed and scuttled in the US.

In 2014, RIMAP received backing from the Australian National Maritime Museum to investigate the theory further.

— NZ Herald