One of the most famous tragedies of the Northwest Passage sea route around the top of North America might have finally been solved . British sailor John Franklin left England with two ships in 1845 in an ill-fated attempt to sail the Northwest Passage . Stuck in the ice of the Canadian Arctic , all 129 crew members perished in 1846 . Modern explorers have succeeded where Franklin failed , but Canadians never stopped hoping they would find the lost ships of the Franklin Expedition . On Tuesday , Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that one of the two ships was found . `` I am delighted to announce that this year 's Victoria Strait Expedition has solved one of Canada 's greatest mysteries , with the discovery of one of the two ships belonging to the Franklin Expedition lost in 1846 , '' he said in a statement . Whether the vessel is Her Majesty 's Ship ( HMS ) Erebus or HMS Terror is n't yet clear , Harper said . `` We do have enough information to confirm its authenticity . '' The finding was confirmed on Sunday , September 7 , using a Parks Canada remotely-operated underwater vehicle . `` This is truly a historic moment for Canada , '' he said . `` Franklin 's ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions , which took place nearly 200 years ago , laid the foundations of Canada 's Arctic sovereignty . '' Since 2008 , there have been six major Parks Canada-led searches for the lost Franklin Expedition ships , Harper said . The race to sail the Northwest Passage heats up .
British sailor John Franklin hoped to sail the Northwest Passage in the 1840s . Franklin and his crew perished in the Canadian Arctic . The Canadian government said one of the two missing ships has been found .