The imaging of the Vasa warship wreck site

The Vasa capsized and sank in Stockholm 1628. Today Vasa is the world's best preserved 17th century ship and the Vasa museum is the most visited museum in Scandinavia.

In March 2018, Robert Wilson Marine Technologies was asked to assist the Vasa Museum with a survey of the wreck site of the Vasa warship. Our mission focused on finding a missing bronze cannon, known since the 17th century but never found, alongside any other remains of value from the wreck site. The request for assistance came from the stakeholder association Vasamuseets vänner (Friends of the Vasa Museum) and the Embassies of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Upon embarking on the survey, we very quickly discovered a significant challenge. The wreck was 32 metres down and buried metres beneath the seabed. RWMT technicians and engineers worked for months to adapt the software to these challenging conditions.

The results far exceeded expectations, and several exciting discoveries were made. For example, we detected what we believe to be the cannon and a surprise object, a wooden knight figure. We’ve since handed over documentation and coordinates to the Vasa Museum.

The discoveries have been described as “incredible” and are the first to be made at the wreck site since the 1960s.