Wreck thought to be Russian ship sunk in 1905

The hull of a sunken ship presumed to be the Dmitri Donskoi, a Russian cruiser that went down in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, has been found on the sea bottom near Ulleungdo Island. Dong-Ah Construction Industrial Co. and the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute said yesterday that they had discovered the remains of the ship buried in a 400-meter-deep sea valley 2 kilometers (1.2 mile) from Ulleungdo’s port of Jeodong. “According to photos taken by an unmanned submarine, the sunken ship had cannons and the shape of the rear deck balcony looks similar to pictures of the Donskoi,” said Kim Shi-woong, chief executive of the construction firm. “There is no confirmation of a rumor that the ship contains treasure including gold bullion,” Mr. Kim added. Yoo Hai-soo, the head of the excavation project, said Dong-Ah and the research institute would continue to explore the possibility of salvaging the ship, beginning with a detailed underwater videotaping of the wreck. The Dmitri Donskoi was a 5,800-ton ironclad cruiser that belonged to imperial Russia’s Baltic fleet. It was allegedly scuttled by its crew after it was chased and surrounded by Japanese war ships. Dong-Ah and the marine research institute began the joint exploration in August 1999. Dong-Ah was declared insolvent in November 2000 and is in the process of liquidation, but it got approval from its creditors to continue the exploration. “Even if we succeed in salvaging the ship, controversies are anticipated as there is no provision in international law governing ownership of such a ship,” an official at the research institute said. by Kim Jong-yoon