The story of the Sea Surveyor
September 19, 2022 1:01 pm
• Last Updated: April 14, 2023 10:22 am
Twelve crew members from this research vessel the Sea Surveyor were picked up by a Norwegian freighter early today after spending 26 hours huddled in a life raft after the ship sank about 280 miles southeast of New York, near Groton, Conn., Jan. 8, 1969. The Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp. owned and operated the ship. Exact date of photo is unknown. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)
On Sunday, January 5, 1969, the 118-foot ship Sea Surveyor departed from Electric Boat in Groton. The mission was routine: to rendezvous with a submarine, conduct some antenna communication tests, and return home. When the 12 crew and passengers eventually returned they had left their ship at the bottom of the Atlantic. What went wrong?