David Mearns

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For the librarian and scholar of Abraham Lincoln, see David C. Mearns.
David Mearns
Born (1958-08-10) August 10, 1958 (age 65)
Weehawken, New Jersey
Alma materFairleigh Dickinson University
University of South Florida
OccupationMarine scientist

David Louis Mearns, OAM (born 10 August 1958), is an American-born United Kingdom based marine scientist and oceanographer, who specializes in deep water search and recovery operations, and the discovery of the location of historic shipwrecks.

Early life

Mearns was raised in Weehawken, New Jersey, where he attended Weehawken High School, graduating in 1976. He subsequently graduated B.Sc. in Marine Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1980, and obtained a Masters degree in Marine Geology from the University of South Florida in 1986.[1]

Oceanographic career

From 1986 to 1995 Mearns was employed in the commercial undersea surveying industry in a managerial capacity. In 1990 he worked on the criminal investigation into the foundering of the freighter Lucona, and in 1994 located the wreck of the ore-bulk-oil carrier MV Derbyshire. Relocating to England in the mid 1990s, he established Blue Water Recoveries, Limited, a commercial company that locates and researches historic deep-sea shipwrecks across the globe.[2]

In 2001, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the

North Atlantic Ocean the wrecks of the Royal Navy flagship HMS Hood, and its nemesis, the Bismarck. An extended television documentary entitled The Hunt for the Hood was produced from the expedition.[3] In 2012 Mearns led an expedition, filmed for a British television documentary entitled How the Bismarck Sank HMS Hood, to re-visit the wreck of HMS Hood to facilitate study of the technical aspects of the warship's destruction.[4]

Mearns and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd. holds five Guinness World Records, including one for the deepest shipwreck ever found, the German blockade runner Rio Grande, which was located at a depth of 5,762 metres (18,904 ft).[5]

In 2008 Mearns

Titanic" because of what it meant to Australia. "Nothing comes close to the Sydney."[6]
At the end of 2010, he successfully led the search for another missing Australian shipwreck, the Hospital Ship
Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his work in locating and analyzing the wrecks of HMAS Sydney and AHS Centaur.[8]

On 3 March 2015, Mearns was part of a team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen which located the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea.[9]

On 15 March 2015, Mearns jointly announced with the Ministry of Heritage & Culture of the Government of

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.[11]

Since 2003, Mearns has been studying the possible wreck location of the Endurance, which was lost during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole in 1915.[12]

In January 2019, Mearns was commissioned to locate a light-aircraft (carrying the professional footballer

disappeared whilst flying across the English Channel. On 3 February 2019 the search team led by Mearns located the wreck of the aircraft lying in waters around the Channel Islands.[13][14]

Personal life

Mearns lives in the

Explorers' Club.[15]

Awards and honours

  • 2023: Certificate of Achievement, Royal Institute of Navigation
  • 2019: Lowell Thomas Award, The
    Explorers Club
  • 2019: Global Leadership Award, University of South Florida
  • 2018: Mountbatten Best Book Award for The Shipwreck Hunter
  • 2018: Society for Nautical Research Certificate of Merit for The Shipwreck Hunter
  • 2015: Sir Robert Craven Award, Britannia Naval Research Association
  • 2011: Distinguished Alumni Award, University of South Florida
  • 2010: Maritime Fellowship Award, UK Maritime Foundation
  • 2010: Honorary Medal of the Order of Australia OAM for service to Australia
  • 1995: Seatrade Awards Safety at Sea Commendation for the MV Derbyshire Search Project

Books

  • Hood and Bismarck (Pub. Channel 4, London) 2001.
  • The Search for the Sydney (Pub. HarperCollins) 2009.
  • The Shipwreck Hunter (Pub. Allen & Unwin) 2017.
  • The Sinking of H.M.A.S. Sydney (Pub. HarperCollins) 2018.

References

  1. ^ Hague, Jim. "Weehawken native finds HMS Hood on ocean's floor Mearns' six-year journey ends with mixed emotions; leads to documentary, book" Archived 2016-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, The Hudson Reporter, November 9, 2001. Accessed December 29, 2016. "When David Mearns was a youngster growing up in Weehawken, he was always fascinated by water.... Upon graduating from Weehawken High School in 1976, Mearns headed to Fairleigh Dickinson University to major in marine biology. He graduated in 1980 after studying in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands for a semester, then headed to graduate school at the University of South Florida in Tampa."
  2. ^ Entry (dated 2017) for Mearns on the Linkedin professional profile website.
  3. ^ IMDb entry for 'The Hunt for the Hood'. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318884/
  4. ^ 'How the Bismarck Sank HMS Hood', Darlow Smithson Productions, 2012, IMDb website (2018). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2585546/
  5. ^ A.B.C. (Australia) Report, 'The Hunt for H.M.A.S. Sydney', April 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hmassydney/whosinvd.htm
  6. ^ "'I'll find HMAS Sydney'". news.com.au. Sunday Telegraph. 2006-11-12. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  7. ^ Fraser, Andrew (21 December 2009). "Discovery proves maligned navigator got it right". The Australian. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  8. ^ Smith, Aaron (4 November 2010). "Shipwreck finder gets honorary OAM". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Live video feed of sunken Japan WWII warship Musashi by Paul Allen research team". CBS News. 13 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Vasco da Gama shipwreck Esmeralda near Oman from Vasco da Gama fleet".
  11. doi:10.1111/1095-9270.12175
    .
  12. ^ 'Shipwreck Hunter David Mearns', profile and interview, 'HistoryNet', 29 April 2018. http://www.historynet.com/shipwreck-hunter-david-mearns.htm
  13. ^ Sheena McKenzie and Samantha Beech (3 February 2019). "Wreckage from missing plane of footballer Emiliano Sala found". CNN.
  14. ^ "Who is the man behind the Sala search?". BBC News. 4 February 2019.
  15. ^ 'Blue Water Recoveries' website (2018), biography of David Mearns. http://bluewater.uk.com

External links

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