An ocean exploration team filmed the world's deepest known shipwreck for the first time. The World War II US Navy battleship, the USS Johnston, was sunk by the Japanese Navy in 1944 in the Philippine Sea. The shipwreck is now on the ocean floor, around 6,456 metres deep. The film crew went down to that incredible depth and darkness in a specially built submersible that can deal with the pressure of the deep ocean. They discovered the wreck was about 30 metres deeper than they thought. The filming took place during two eight-hour dives.
The explorers are from the company Caladan Oceanic. Its founder, Victor Vescovo, was in the US Navy. He has a passion for adventure. He visited the world's hardest-to-get-to places and holds the record for being the first person to get to the top of all the world's continents, both poles, and the bottom of all the world's oceans. His mission to film the USS Johnston was a personal one because that ship and his submersible were made in the same shipyard. He said: "As a US Navy officer, I'm proud to have helped bring clarity and closure to the USS Johnston."