ROBERT BALLARD, who led the expedition that discovered the Greek vessel, is perhaps the world’s most successful living explorer, mixing showmanship and an eye for publicity with the credibility of a respected academic oceanographer.

The 60-year-old former commander in the US Navy made his name in 1977 with the discovery of 8ft worms living around hydrothermal vents on the sea floor but he is best known for tracking down the wrecks of famous ships.

In 1985 he located the wreck of the Titanic, and his other significant finds include the German battleship Bismarck, sunk during the Second World War, the Lusitania, the civilian liner sunk by the Germans in the First World War, and USS Yorktown, the aircraft carrier lost in the Battle of Midway.

Last summer his team found the remains of PT-109, the torpedo boat captained by John F. Kennedy during the Second World War, and in 1999 he located two Phoenician ships off the coast of Israel — the oldest wrecks ever found in deep water.

His recent work has concentrated heavily on the Black Sea, where deep waters starved of oxygen preserve ancient ships remarkably well. In 2000 his team found a 1,500-year-old wooden vessel still virtually intact.

He has also located an ancient submerged settlement off the north Turkish coast that may be evidence of a catastrophic flood that provided the model for the legend of Genesis.

Dr Ballard is planning to return to the Black Sea this summer and will also lead an expedition to the mouth of the Nile, seeking evidence of ancient Egyptian seafaring. In 2004 or 2005, he hopes to travel to Antarctica in search of the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance.

Tools of the trade

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs): for more detailed investigations of wrecks, the team uses unmanned robot submarines, which can operate for longer than manned vessels. His vehicles include:

Argus: a tow sled, which hangs on the end of a long cable attached to the ship. Carries powerful lights, and a smaller submarine, Little Hercules, for detailed investigations.

Little Hercules: buoyancy module makes it neutrally buoyant in seawater so that gravity has little effect when it is submerged. Highly manoeuvrable, and high-definition video camera sends back detailed pictures. Used to take pictures of Varna site.

Echo: side-scan sonar module, towed 50 to 100 metres above the sea floor to search for objects worthy of further investigation.

Hercules: the latest ROV, which will be used for the first time this summer to investigate the Varna site. Uses sonar to construct virtual picture of the archaeological site, imaging the wreck through sediment. Robotic arms, water jets and suction pipes will then brush away the sediment.

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