Remains of sunken ship that may have been part of Vasco da Gama’s last voyage (Image: Caesar Bita via Centre for Functional Ecology/University of Coimbra)
A sunken ship may hold the secret to Vasco da Gama’s last voyage more than five centuries ago.
The wreckage, discovered off the coast of Kenya in 2013, has been identified as a Portuguese vessel that could have belonged to a legendary explorer.
believe it may have been a part of Vasco da Gama’s final voyage across the Indian Ocean.
It could be the Sao Jorge, which was captained by Fernando de Monroy sank in Malindi in 1524 – the same year Da Gama died.
Scientists wrote in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology: “The recent discovery of a Portuguese shipwreck in Malindi, Kenya, could be a galleon from Vasco da Gama’s last voyage.”
A map of Vasco da Gama’s first voyage (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
If this is confirmed, the vessel would be one of the earliest European shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean, according to the researchers.
The pioneering explorer sailed from Europe to the Indian Ocean in 1497, with his ship being the first to go round the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
In 1513, Portugal began building ships for war and exploration voyages to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
One had three or four masts and could be fitted with artillery. This design was adopted across Europe, revolutionising sea travel.
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Archeologists hope that further analysis could confirm the origins of the shipwrecks, which sits just six metres underwater, protected by the local population.
They will undertake “a survey of the coral reefs that stretch north from Malindi to Ras Ngomeni, Kenya – a distance of about 15 miles” to do this.
If confirmed, researchers say the ship may hold “a significant historical and symbolic value as physical testimony to the presence of Vasco da Gama’s third armada in Kenyan waters”.