New search underway for World War II shipwreck that poses pollution threat off Florida coast

Scientists have resumed their search for the SS Norlindo, an elusive and potentially hazardous World War II shipwreck off the coast of Florida, for the third time in less than two years, officials said. This latest attempt to locate the sunken vessel, considered "the first casualty of WWII in the Gulf of Mexico," comes after previous expeditions led by an international team of oceanic explorers and archeologists in 2021 and 2022.

The SS Norlindo was a sprawling American steam freighter measuring 253 feet in length, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It went down near the small island of Dry Tortugas, about 75 miles from Key West, on May 4, 1942, after being torpedoed by a German U-boat. Officials say the freighter sunk so quickly that five people on its 28-person crew could not escape, and the location of the wreck has remained a mystery ever since.

The most recent attempt to find the SS Norlindo is led by scientists at the University of Southern Mississippi, who ventured out on their research vessel Point Sur on April 14, for an expedition scheduled to wrap up this Saturday. Previous expeditions, led by a team of German, Italian and American scientists and archeologists, began with a three-week search toward the end of 2021. The same team returned for a second search in late January and early February of last year, NOAA said, but bad weather conditions ultimately hampered their efforts.