An Interesting New Project Will Be Documenting 19th and 20th Century Shipwrecks in Pakistani Waters
Unbeknownst to many, Pakistan has a longstanding tradition of seafaring and maritime activities dating back centuries. MaritimEA Research is partnering with the UK’s Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS) to document a segment of that history as part of their project — Wrecks and Records: Building Pakistan’s Maritime Past.
The project is supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and will be cross-referencing their archives with the India Office Records, the Sind Official Gazette, the Bombay Government Gazette and other historical documents to create a reference database of 19th and 20th century shipwrecks in Pakistani waters.
According to the MaritimEA website, Amer Bazl Khan, director of the organization, said Pakistan’s underwater heritage remains “largely unexplored” and “this project will not only recover lost histories but also empower Pakistani institutions to take the lead in preserving our maritime past.” The organization shared news about their undertaking on their Instagram account on Tuesday.
Peta Knott, education manager at NAS, said in an earlier press release that many of the records relevant to Pakistan’s maritime history were inaccessible to Pakistani researchers as they were held in the UK.
“This project enables our volunteers to play an active role in supporting researchers in Pakistan — helping to redress historical imbalances in access to heritage and making the Lloyd’s Register archives more internationally relevant, open and inclusive. It’s a step toward the decolonization of the archives, and an innovative model for equitable research,” Knott is quoted as saying in the statement.
This is MaritimEA’s second project surrounding historical preservation. In 2024, the organization led the Digital Heritage Trails Project with support from the British Council. The project involved documenting archaeological sites across the Indus Delta at Bhambhore, Jam Jaskar Goth, Lahiri Bunder, Ratu Kot Fort and Ranu Kot and creating 3-D models of the ruins. The project also recorded the history of these sites through archival research and by interviewing local fisherfolk and indigenous communities. - Images
