US Archaeologists have found remains of two whaling ships that sank 144 years ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. The federal agency also released a video of the old ships that were trapped by sea ice in 1871 where chains, anchors and planking can be seen.

NOAA used ‘state-of-the-art sonar and sensing technology’ to locate the shipwreck of the two whaling vessels that were among about three dozen ships that sank in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast more than a century ago.

An earlier study showed that there could be some whaling vessels be on the seabed that sank in 1871, said NOAA archaeologist and co-director, Brad Barr. But before this, not a single team of archaeologists could prove that there are ship remains under water, Barr added.

“This exploration provides an opportunity to write the last chapter of this important story of American maritime heritage and also bear witness to some of the impacts of a warming climate on the region's environmental and cultural landscape, including diminishing sea ice and melting permafrost”, Barr further explained.

As per historians, more than one thousand of whalers were rescued years ago when they were left stranded on the sea ice. That time, a number of ships dumped whale bones in an attempt to survive. Nobody died in that incident, but it brought commercial whaling in the US to meet its end.

While providing more information on the remains, James Delgado of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries said the wreckage were pressed against a submerged sandbar. According to the archeologist team, it spotted anchors, ballast and whaling equipment on the sea floor near the two wrecked ships.