In 2001, after many years of misidentification, the remains of the Sub Marine Explorer piqued the interest of archaeologist James P. Delgado of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. Identification of the craft, with the assistance of submarine historians Richard Wills and Eugene Canfield, led to four archaeological expeditions to the Explorer in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. Documentation of the Sub Marine Explorer has resulted in detailed plans, including interpretive reconstructions of the craft, scientific study of its environment and interaction with the surrounding water, bathymetric assessment, scientific analysis of rates of corrosion, and considerable historical research.