Ever wondered about the deepest shipwreck in history? A US-based team has completely mapped and filmed the world’s deepest recorded shipwreck, a World War II US Navy destroyer. In the Philippine Sea, the USS Johnston is at a depth of 21,180 feet (about 6,500 meters). While its location has long been known, this is the first time a crew has been able to map and film the entire wreckage.

Caladan Oceanic, a private company headquartered in the United States that specializes in ocean expeditions, is credited with discovering the shipwreck on March 31. Its exploration vessel, the DSV Limiting Factor, was able to survey the wreck, which was discovered to be more than 100 feet deeper than previously thought and lying more than four miles beneath the Pacific’s surface. Let’s dive in and discover more about it. Victor Vescovo, a former US Navy commander with a long-standing passion for exploring some of the world’s most remote locations, founded Caladan Oceanic. He holds the record for being the first person to travel to the top of all of the world’s continents, both poles and the bottom of all of the world’s oceans. With the survey of the USS Johnston, Vescovo accomplished yet another goal: completing the world’s deepest shipwreck dive. For the entire operation, which took place in two eight-hour segments over two days, he was at the controls of the Limiting Factor.

The USS Johnston sank on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Samar. According to the US Naval History and Heritage Command, it was one of four naval battles that made up the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history. Former Navy captain and Hawaii Pacific University instructor Carl Schuster expresses his pride of being a US Navy officer, being able to “bring clarity and closure to the Johnston, its crew, and the families of those who fell there.”