A group of divers claim to have found the remains of a centuries-old frigate that was given to Peter the Great by England's King William III, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
The ship, named the Royal Transport, was reportedly discovered several weeks ago off the coast of Sweden, Alexei Mikhailov, an employee of the iXplorer private ocean research company and head of the mission, was cited as saying.
Mikhailov said they found the first traces of the wreck on Sept. 27 — exactly 300 calendar years after it sank — after a group of Russian and Swedish divers had been searching for it for several years.
The 28-meter vessel was given to Peter the Great in 1698 by British monarch William III of Orange, and was considered one of the fastest ships of its time, the report said.
“It was a favorite of Peter's,” Mikhailov was cited as saying, adding that the ship was used as a model for the first warships of Russia's navy.
The ship sank off the coast of Gothenburg in 1715 after it got caught in a heavy storm on its way to St. Petersburg from Arkhangelsk, the report said.