Aussies say James Cook’s ship was found, US says not so fast

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian maritime experts believe the wreck of one of the most important ships in the history of the South Pacific has been found, but archaeologists in the U.S. quickly countered by saying the findings were premature. British explorer James Cook sailed the HMS Endeavour around the South Pacific and charted the New Zealand coast before landing in Australia in 1770. The ship later was deliberately sunk by British forces during the American Revolution. Maritime archaeologists investigated ancient shipwrecks in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, to try to identify the ship. The chief executive of the Australian National Maritime Museum says structural details and the shape of what remains of the ship matched. The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project says there’s no indisputable proof.