Rooswijk shipwreck explored on Goodwin Sands

Divers have been exploring the wreck of a merchant ship that set out from the Netherlands in 1740 but sank on the notorious Goodwin Sands, off the Kent coast, with the loss of all 300 people on board.

Rooswijk was built in Amsterdam in 1737 for the Dutch East India Company and was heading for what is now Indonesia, but was then Dutch territory,

But within a day, the ship was wrecked. It went down with a large cargo of silver ingots and coins.

Historic England and its Dutch counterparts have been at the site near Deal to try to unlock some of the wreck's secrets.

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  • Kent