The wreck was discovered off the coast in 1995 and was taken to a conservation lab. This week, a special conceived procedure is ongoing to reveal after 150 years its hull in the hope to understand the demise of the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship. It will be soaked in a chemical bath of sodium hydroxide for about three months to loosen the encrustation coating the hull and interior of the sub. Later, some workers wearing protective gear will use hand tools to remove the hard sand, sediment and rust coating the sub before refilling the tank each evening. According to Nestor Gonzalez-Pereyra, the associate director of the Lasch Conservation Center at Clemson University’s Restoration Institute, after about one year „we may be able to have the clues“ about what happened with the sub. If in August 2000 the HL Hurley submarine wreckage was celebrated with canon booms and church bells rang when it was raised from the sea, this will be the moment when it will be put on public display in a new museum in North Charleston.
