(New York) – Since the SS Cotopaxi disappeared in 1925, it has become one of the most famous stories associated with the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. On November 29, 1925 the steam powered bulk carrier set off on a standard trip from Charleston, South Carolina to Havana, Cuba. No one knows where or how it vanished and none of bodies of the 32 passengers on board were ever recovered. It is one of the triangle’s biggest secrets and even popped up at the end of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Postcard of the SS Cotopaxi, which went missing in 1925 after leaving Charleston, South Carolina. 

Now, almost 100 years later, a team of marine biologists and underwater explorers have identified the SS Cotopaxi off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida. Their research and findings can be seen in the premiere episode of the new Science Channel series, SHIPWRECK SECRETS, premiering Sunday, February 9 at 8 p.m. Subsequent episodes will premiere on Sunday nights at 9 p.m.

To help pinpoint the possible location where the SS Cotopaxi sunk, marine biologist and underwater explorer Michael Barnette contacted British historian Guy Walters to help do some digging. Walters combed through ship records at the archives of Lloyd’s of London, who were the insurance brokers of the SS Cotopaxi. There he discovered something previously unknown about the SS Cotopaxi’s voyage. The ship had sent out wireless distress signals on December 1st, 1925, two days after it left Charleston. The signals were picked up in Jacksonville, Fla., placing the ship in the area of a shipwreck found nearly 35 years ago.

Armed with this new information, Barnette headed to Florida with his dive partner, Joe Citelli, to dive the wreck. However, their dive as well as the use of an underwater drone to survey the ship, did not produce any corroborating evidence. From there, Barnette met with Al Perkins, an avid diver who has been diving the area since the 1980’s. On these dives, Perkins had collected souvenirs. Could one of these items be the piece that solves the puzzle?

To gather more evidence, Barnette enlists the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching and preserving the 500 year long maritime history of the region. Two of their leading maritime archaeologists Chuck Meide and Brendan Burke are experts in discovering, exploring and identifying wrecks in the area. Together they headed to the wreck – and what they found was truly astonishing.

Further research was able to corroborate the wreck’s location compared to where the distress signals were sent out, leading Barnette to come to no other conclusion: they’ve uncovered the long-lost SS Cotopaxi.

SHIPWRECK SECRETS then visited with Douglas Myers in Long Island, NY, the grandson the SS Cotopaxi Captain William J. Myers where he was told that the ship had after nearly a century been identified.

Among the other stories looked at in SHIPWRECK SECRETS are the SS Justicia, a British ship sunk during World War I, that was torpedoed by a submarine near the notorious killing zone close to Malin’s Head, Ireland; the Ghost Ships of Chuuk Lagoon, Japan’s main World War II base in the South Pacific, but in 1944, American forces launched an attack and over a two day bombardment more than 60 Japanese Imperial Vessels ended up on the floor of the lagoon, partly in retribution for Pearl Harbor; the Lake Serpent, a 200-year-old schooner that lies at the bottom of Lake Erie, which was an integral part of the north American trade route through the Great Lakes.

SHIPWRECK SECRETS is produced by Like a Shot Productions for Science Channel. Henry Scott is executive producer for Like a Shot. Neil Laird serves as executive producer for Science Channel.

About Science Channel

Science Channel, a multi-media business unit of Discovery, Inc. is the home of all things science around the clock, including series such as MYTHBUSTERS, OUTRAGEOUS ACTS OF SCIENCE, WHAT ON EARTH?, HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS, UNEARTHED, and MYSTERIES OF THE ABANDONED. Science Channel’s programming also includes timely, expert-driven specials covering breaking science news and discoveries. Science Channel is the premiere TV, digital and social community for those with a passion for science, space, technology, archeology, and engineering, providing immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment across all Science Channel assets including: Science Channel television network, available in more than 63 million homes in the U.S; complimentary Video On Demand offering; SCI Go app allowing viewers to catch up on full episodes of their favorite shows anytime; deep video, interactive storytelling and virtual reality at www.sciencechannel.com; and conversations on Science Channel’s popular social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat via @ScienceChannel.