These divers helped secure the shipwreck off Cape Ray — and got a look up close

The divers of Newfoundland's Cleans Harbour Initiative are usually pulling trash from the ocean, but they recently got to help secure an ancient shipwreck found near Cape Ray — which could help shed light on the mystery of where it came from.

The ragged, overturned hull emerged last week off Cape Ray, on the shore of J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park.

Residents have quickly sprung into action to find ways to secure the vessel in the water so they can keep it in place and learn more about it. That's when the Clean Harbours Initiative, which was working in nearby Port aux Basques, got involved.

"It's pretty amazing," manager Trevor Croft told CBC News on Friday.

"Seeing those massive timbers up close was also fairly exciting. Those wooden dowels, just the sheer size of some of those planks on the vessel was astounding."

Croft estimates the vessel is about 30 metres long and nine or 10 metres wide. It's lying upside down on the ocean floor, he added, and has copper and brass spikes sticking out of the ship's keel.

"Before we got the opportunity to secure it, it moved a couple of hundred feet," he said. 

"We put that big strap around the keel and tied ropes through that strap, and to some railway track that was sticking through the sand.… It's literally the perfect place for that vessel to wash up. You could literally drive right to it."

WATCH | How the shipwreck was spotted: 

#TheMoment a mysterious shipwreck appeared on the Newfoundland coast

10 months ago

Duration 1:25

A massive shipwreck recently emerged near the beach in Cape Ray, N.L., amazing residents who are waiting to find out how old it is and where it came from.

Croft said it's tough to tell how old the boat is but the vessel looks to be made of solid oak that's covered in a substance to waterproof it.

Members of the provincial government's archaeology office are planning to visit the shipwreck on Saturday, according to a press release, where they'll take pictures and videos and collect samples of the ship's wood core.

The release said it's too early to speculate whether the ship is historically significant or where it originated from.

Croft hopes something will be done to preserve the vessel, saying it could serve as a tourism attraction for Cape Ray.

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