The National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) is a private

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

founded in 1979. Originally it was a fictional US government organization in the novels of author

Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list ...

. Cussler later created and, until his death in 2020, led the actual organization which is dedicated to "preserving our maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck artifacts.” Additionally "NUMA does not actively seek private funding. Most of the financial support for the projects comes from the royalties from Clive Cussler’s books."

History

founded NUMA as a private non-profit organization in 1979, naming it after a fictional government agency in his series of

Dirk Pitt Dirk Pitt is a fictional character created by American novelist Clive Cussler and featured in a series of novels published from 1976 to 2021. Pitt is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of pulp magazine icon Doc Savage. Pitt is a citizen of the ...

novels. NUMA is involved in

underwater archeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

and survey.

NUMA expeditions

NUMA's expeditions tend to focus on ships of American origin from the early 19th century to the early 20th century, especially on

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

ships of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. NUMA has located or attempted to locate the following vessels and historical artifacts:

Trustees

The NUMA Advisory Board of Trustees: *

, Chairman ''(deceased)'' *

Dirk Cussler Dirk Cussler (born 1961) is an American author. He is the son of best selling author Clive Cussler and a co-author of several Dirk Pitt adventure novels, as well as being the namesake of the Pitt character. Early life and education Cussler was bo ...

, President *Colonel Walter Schob * Dana Larson *Admiral William Thompson ''(deceased)'' *

William Shea William Alfred Shea (June 21, 1907 – October 2, 1991) was an American lawyer and a name partner of the prominent law firm of Shea & Gould. He is better known as the founder of the Continental League, which was instrumental in bringing Nation ...

''(deceased)'' *Michael Hogan * Harold Edgerton ''(deceased)'' *Clyde Smith *

Don Walsh Don Walsh (born November 2, 1931) is an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'' when it made a record maximum descent into the Challenger Deep on January 2 ...

Peter Throckmorton Edgerton Alvord Throckmorton (July 30, 1928 – June 5, 1990), known as Peter Throckmorton, was an American photojournalist and a pioneer underwater archaeologist. Throckmorton was a founding member of the Sea Research Society and served on its Bo ...

''(deceased)'' *Tony Bell *

Douglas Wheeler Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

* Wayne Gronquist *

Craig Dirgo Craig Dirgo is an American author of techno thrillers and adventure novels, as well as non-fiction. He started off co-authoring with Clive Cussler on his non-fiction work. He soon moved to his own novels starring his character, John Taft, an age ...

* Ralph Wilbanks

The fictional NUMA

In the

series of adventure

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s by

that debuted in 1973 with '' The Mediterranean Caper'' novel, NUMA is a government organization. The fictional NUMA is devoted to oceanic exploration and investigation, and is the agency employing the main characters in the series of books. Its headquarters is a 30-story building located on the east bank of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

, overlooking the Capitol building in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The agency comprises over five thousand employees and scientists that often work around the clock on expeditions. It is often referred to as a marine version of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

), an American scientific agency focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere, and has research vessels that conduct many missions that are similar to the actual NUMA. The fictional NUMA is headed by the character Admiral

James Sandecker Dirk Pitt is a fictional character created by American novelist Clive Cussler and featured in a series of novels published from 1976 to 2021. Pitt is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of pulp magazine icon Doc Savage. Pitt is a citizen of the ...

, with

Rudi Gunn Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spir ...

as second in command, although Dirk Pitt is eventually asked to take over when Sandecker pursues the vice-presidency. Housed inside this headquarters is one of the world's most advanced computer systems which contains almost every known piece of information, both current and ancient, about the sea. The computer center takes up the entire 10th floor but is in an "open" setting with a raised circular platform that uses a hologram to display an artificial intelligence designed by Hiram Yeager, named Max, at its center. There are no cubicles. Hiram Yeager designed, runs, and maintains the computer lab.

''The Sea Hunters''

Cussler and NUMA have helped produce a television series on

underwater exploration Underwater exploration is the exploration of any underwater environment, either by direct observation by the explorer, or by remote observation and measurement under the direction of the investigators. Systematic, targeted exploration is the mos ...

called ''

The Sea Hunters ''The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks'' is a nonfiction work by adventure novelist Clive Cussler published in the United States in 1996. This work details the author's search for famous shipwrecks with his nonprofit organiz ...

'', which chronicles the discovery and subsequent removal and conservation of the CSS ''H. L. Hunley'' in 1995. The show also features a number of other shipwrecks in various international locations, and on occasion the failure to find anything at all, such as their attempts to find the ''

Holland III The ''Holland III'' was an early prototype submarine made by John Holland. The 16-foot 1-ton model was a scaled-down version of the ''Fenian Ram'' intended for experiments to help him improve navigation. In a dispute over money, the prototype ...

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

submarine. The show features Cussler and

James Delgado James Preston Delgado (born January 11, 1958) is a maritime archaeologist, historian, maritime preservation expert, author, television host, and explorer. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist who has spent over four decades in underwater explora ...

, who is also an author and executive director of the

Vancouver Maritime Museum The Vancouver Maritime Museum is a maritime museum devoted to presenting the maritime history of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the Canadian Arctic. Opened in 1959 as a Vancouver centennial project, it is located within Vanier Park ...

. The show gives an in-depth explanation of the story of the shipwreck NUMA is exploring, including information about the ship's history and how it sank. Two books titled ''The Sea Hunters'' were authored by Clive Cussler about NUMA's explorations.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Arizona Fictional organizations Dirk Pitt Shipwrecks of the United States Organizations established in 1979 1979 establishments in the United States