Canada’s Victoria Strait expedition crew has found one of the two explorer ships that were lost in 1846 during an expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

According to the Canadian Government, one of the explorer ships HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, which were part of the expedition led by Sir John Franklin, has been found located on the sea floor in northern Canada.

Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “This is truly a historic moment for Canada.

“Franklin’s ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions, which took place nearly 200 years ago, laid the foundations of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.”

“Franklin’s ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions, which took place nearly 200 years ago, laid the foundations of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.

“Finding the first vessel will no doubt provide the momentum, or wind in our sails, necessary to locate its sister ship and find out even more about what happened to the Franklin expedition’s crew.”

Officials have released an image showing a largely intact wooden ship resting upright on the sea bed only 11m (36ft) below the surface, reported Reuters.

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The government had declared the missing ships as an undiscovered national historic site and there have been six major Parks Canada-led searches for the lost Franklin expedition ships since 2008.

Partners involved in the Victoria Strait expedition are Parks Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), the Arctic Research Foundation (ARF), the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Government of Nunavut.