A major maritime discovery occurred in late 2024 when the USS Stewart (DD-224), known as the "Ghost Ship of the Pacific," was found off the coast of California after being lost for nearly 80 years. The USS Stewart has one of the most unique histories in naval warfare: it was a U.S. Navy destroyer damaged and scuttled in Indonesia in 1942, only to be raised by the Japanese and used against the Allies as "Patrol Boat No. 102." After the war, the U.S. recovered it and towed it back to San Francisco, where it was eventually used as target practice and sunk in 1946. Researchers from Ocean Infinity and the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation located the wreck 3,500 feet deep in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. More recently, in early 2025, the HMS Trooper, a British submarine that vanished in 1943 during World War II, was also discovered in the Aegean Sea. These findings, made possible by advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), solve decades-old mysteries for the families of the crew members who were lost at sea during the height of global conflict.