HOI AN: Severe coastal erosion caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi exposed a centuries-old shipwreck in Vietnam, providing a narrow window to salvage what experts say could be a historically significant find. Initially discovered in 2023 off the coast of Hoi An, the at least 17.4-metre (57-foot) vessel — whose heavy wood-ribbed hull survived hundreds of years of rough seas almost perfectly intact — was resubmerged before authorities could reclaim it.

Experts have not yet dated the wreck, but preliminary findings suggest it was built between the 14th and 16th centuries — when UNESCO-listed Hoi An was at the centre of a thriving regional trade in silk, ceramics, and spices. “We are currently preparing to apply for an emergency excavation (permit),” Pham Phu Ngoc, director of the Hoi An Center for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage, said on Monday after the wreck resurfaced following the passage of Typhoon Kalmaegi last week.

“The discovery of this ancient ship is clear evidence of Hoi An’s significant historical role in regional trade,”

he said, adding that more of the ship had been exposed this time, which could provide us with more information.

A team of experts from the Hoi An preservation centre, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, and a local museum surveyed the wreck last year.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2025