David Louis Mearns, OAM, M.Sc. (born 10 August 1958), is an American-born

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

based marine scientist and

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

, 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 Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, where he attended

Weehawken High School Weehawken High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Weehawken in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Weehawken School District. The sch ...

, graduating in 1976. He subsequently graduated B.Sc. in Marine Biology from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

in 1980, and obtained a Masters degree in Marine Geology from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

in 1986.

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 An ore-bulk-oil carrier, also known as combination carrier or OBO, is a ship designed to be capable of carrying wet or dry cargoes. The idea is to reduce the number of empty (ballast) voyages, in which large ships only carry a cargo one way and re ...

. Relocating to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the mid 1990s, he established ''Blue Water Recoveries, Limited'', a commercial company that locates and researches historic deep-sea shipwrecks across the globe. In 2001, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the

Battle of the Denmark Strait The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a naval engagement in the Second World War, which took place on 24 May 1941 between ships of the Royal Navy and the ''Kriegsmarine''. The British battleship and the battlecruiser fought the German battleshi ...

high seas confrontation between the naval forces of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Mearns successfully led an expedition funded by

Channel 4 Television Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

to locate and film on the seabed of the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

the wrecks of the Royal Navy flagship , and its nemesis, the ''Bismarck''. An extended television documentary entitled ''The Hunt for the Hood'' was produced from the expedition. 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. Mearns and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd. holds five

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, including one for the deepest shipwreck ever found, the German blockade runner ''Rio Grande'', which was located at a depth of . In 2008 Mearns led a search team to find the Australian cruiser and the German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'', which both sank following an engagement off

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1941 during World War 2. Prior to finding HMAS ''Sydney'', Mearns said that it was, in some ways, "bigger than the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''" because of what it meant to Australia. "Nothing comes close to the ''Sydney''." At the end of 2010, he successfully led the search for another missing Australian shipwreck, the Hospital Ship ''Centaur'', which was torpedoed off

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

by a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

submarine in 1943. On 1 November 2010, Mearns was awarded an honorary

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in recognition of his work in locating and analyzing the wrecks of HMAS ''Sydney'' and AHS ''Centaur''. On 3 March 2015, Mearns was part of a team led by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

co-founder

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which ...

which located the wreck of the Japanese battleship '' Musashi'' in the

Sibuyan Sea The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon. It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque ...

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

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

the discovery of a shipwreck from Vasco da Gama's 4th Portuguese India Armada in 1502-1503. The wreck is believed to be the Portuguese ''nau Esmeralda'' that was commanded by

Vicente Sodré Vicente Sodré (c. 1465 – 30 April 1503) was a 16th-century Portuguese knight of Order of Christ and the captain of the first Portuguese naval patrol in the Indian Ocean. He was an uncle of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Background V ...

, the maternal uncle of Vasco da Gama. Having sunk in May 1503, the ''Esmeralda'' is believed to be the earliest ship from Europe's

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...

ever to be found and excavated by archaeologists. Mearns published a paper, with co-authors D. Parham and B. Frohlich, on the discovery in the

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and WalesCharity Commission
...

. Since 2003, Mearns has been studying the possible wreck location of the ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

'', which was lost during the

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

in 1915. In January 2019, Mearns was commissioned to locate a light-aircraft (carrying the professional footballer

Emiliano Sala Emiliano Raúl Sala Taffarel (; 31 October 1990 – 21 January 2019) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker. After playing youth football in Argentina and following a short spell in Portugal's regional leagues, Sala ...

and pilot, David Ibbotson) which had disappeared whilst flying across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. On 3 February 2019 the search team led by Mearns located the wreck of the aircraft lying in waters around the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

Personal life

Mearns lives in the

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

village of Lodsworth. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers' Club.'Blue Water Recoveries' website (2018), biography of David Mearns. http://bluewater.uk.com

Awards and honours

*2019: Lowell Thomas Award, The

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

*2019: Global Leadership Award,

*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,

*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

External links

''David Mearns' Twitter account''

''Blue Water Recoveries''
(official website)

''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' (April 11, 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mearns, David 1950s births American expatriates in the United Kingdom American oceanographers Honorary Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Living people Maritime archaeology Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni People from Weehawken, New Jersey University of South Florida alumni Weehawken High School alumni People from Lodsworth