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Submarine team explores Andrea Doria shipwreck, finds it to be ‘just a mess’

Unsurprisingly, the ship that has been sitting on the ocean floor for 60 years has not held up well

Considering how much of a mess one would probably expect a 60-year-old shipwreck to be, the fact that the wreck of Andrea Doria is in even worse shape than expected is saying something. A submarine expedition to the underwater site led by Washington-based company OceanGate earlier this month captured sonar imagery of the famous 1956 wreck in preparation to create a three-dimension map. However, the trip was cut short by bad weather, and they will have to return next year, when, hopefully the Andrea Doria hasn't continued to deteriorate at too sharp a pace. "When you look at the shape of the hull, it appears a lot has come off," said OceanGate's CEO. He continued, "Imagine it as a collapsing cave. Once the cave loses its basic structure, it deteriorates very quickly." This should be a lesson to all you ship owners out there: do not leave your ships sitting on the ocean floor for six decades. It’s very bad for them.

Andrea Doria shipwreck more badly deteriorated than expected [AP]