Capt McClure is credited as the first European to discover the western entrance to the Northwest Passage.The issue of sovereignty has become increasingly important to Canada as the melting of arctic ice has increased interest in marine shipping through the Northwest Passage. Mr Prentice said the discovery of the Investigator supported Canada's historical claim to the region, which the country inherited when it gained independence from Britain.
Archaeologists discovered the HMS Investigator' under about 25ft of pristine, icy arctic water this week using sonar and metal detectors.The Canadian researchers also found three graves of British sailors who died of scurvy on the 1853 expedition.
Parks Canada, a government agency, will inventory and study the ship and other artefacts but will not remove them. It has been in touch with the British government regarding the sailors' remains.
"You could make out all the planking on the deck, the details on the hull, all of the detail of the timber," Mr Prentice said. "It's sitting perfectly upright on the floor of the ocean."
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