A New Jersey-based deep-sea exploration team has brought closure to a maritime mystery that has lingered for nearly a century. The steam trawler ST Seiner, a 139-foot commercial fishing vessel lost in 1929, was finally identified in the treacherous waters of Georges Bank, approximately 125 miles off the coast of Nantucket. The discovery is especially poignant as it was one of the last successful finds led by the team’s captain, who tragically passed away shortly after confirming the wreck’s identity.
The ST Seiner was built in Maine in 1921 and set out from New London, Connecticut, on January 9, 1929. The vessel was scheduled to return on January 22, but after the captain’s final report on January 18, the ship was reported missing. Despite an extensive search, no survivors were found, and all 21 crew members perished. The waters of Georges Bank are notoriously dangerous, with strong currents and deep channels that have claimed countless ships over the decades.
The wreck was discovered by Atlantic Wreck Salvage, a New Jersey-based dive team operating the vessel Tenacious. Initial surveys using side-scan sonar located the wreck in 2022, but it wasn’t until July 2025 that divers conducted detailed investigations to positively identify the vessel. Distinctive features, including the double drum trawl winch, steam engine, and boiler, confirmed the long-lost Seiner’s identity, closing a 95-year-old chapter in North Atlantic maritime history.
Tragically, Captain Joe Mazraani, a Monmouth County lawyer and co-leader of the expedition, died in a diving accident just two days after the discovery. His partner, Jennifer Sellitti, noted the bittersweet nature of the find: while it provides historical closure for the families of the lost crew, it also marked the untimely loss of their guiding leader.
Atlantic Wreck Salvage has a storied history of uncovering historically significant shipwrecks. The team identified the U-550, a German U-boat sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944, confirming it as the last known German U-boat within diveable depth in the North Atlantic. In 2024, they located Le Lyonnais, a French passenger steamship that sank in 1856, capping an eight-year search that revealed one of the earliest French transatlantic passenger ships. The story of Le Lyonnais is chronicled in The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket, authored by Sellitti.
Other notable endeavors include recovering a foghorn from the Andrea Doria, the famed Italian liner that sank in 1956 after a collision with the MS Stockholm, and documenting portions of the MS Stockholm itself. The team has also explored historic wrecks like the RMS Lusitania and HMHS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, cementing their reputation as one of the most accomplished North Atlantic shipwreck teams.
The identification of the ST Seiner not only solves a decades-old mystery but also underscores the enduring fascination with maritime history and deep-sea exploration. Atlantic Wreck Salvage’s work continues to illuminate forgotten chapters of the ocean while preserving artifacts and stories for future generations.
For more on maritime discoveries, historical expeditions, and ocean exploration, visit Explore New Jersey – Art & Culture.
