MRR Team Member Bios
JOSH FISHER ABT
Josh Fisher Abt is a third-generation treasure hunter, grandson of world-famous treasure hunting pioneer and legend Mel Fisher. He has grown up alongside and been exposed to all aspects of the historic shipwreck salvage industry. Having grown up watching his mother manage the historic 1715 Fleet wreck sites, and his grandfather and uncles working the famed 1622 Atocha and Margarita sites and other shipwreck projects, Josh has a unique insight into the realm of historic shipwreck salvage.
While attending college for finance and investment, Josh carried on the family tradition during the summers, captaining a survey boat to conduct geometric magnetometer surveys along the Treasure Coast. During those summer, he worked alongside industry expert Capt. John Brandon—one of his grandfather’s proteges—as well as worked in the office and conservation lab for the 1715 Fleet wrecks.
After completing his college years, Josh moved to Key West to work as a diver for Motivation, Inc. (Mel Fisher Company). After nearly five years of working on the historic 1622 Atocha site, Josh returned to land to manage one of the Mel Fisher retail outlets, and then back to the Treasure Coast to assist his sister in managing the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum in Sebastian, Florida.
In early 2016, Josh was recruited to work as first mate on the Sea Reaper under Capt. Dan Porter of Maritime Research & Recovery. He became an integral part of operations on the subcontracted 1715 Fleet and Margarita wreck sites, and by 2017 he advanced to Captain. As Captain of the Sea Reaper, Josh has been successful in conducting ongoing salvage operations year-round between the two historic fleets. He looks forward to the breadth of future projects and opportunities that the historic shipwreck industry has to offer.
Industry History
2003-2004 – Captain of the PinPointer, a survey boat that was used to conduct magnetometer surveys using a G-880 magnetometer with MagLog Survey Software. Surveyed the 1715 fleet wreck sites along the Treasure Coast for the Mel Fisher Center.
2005 – First mate aboard salvage vessel Endeavor under Capt. John Brandon. This boat has had more treasure on its back deck than any other salvage vessel in history. It has recovered many priceless treasures in its time.
2006-2010 – Crew/Diver on the Dare, salvage vessel for Motivation, Inc. under Capt. Jose Garcia. Recovered many unique and interesting artifacts over the years.
2011-2012 – Manager of Mel Fisher retail outlet in Key West, Florida. Sold many historic coins, relics and jewelry.
2012-2015 – Assistant Manager of Mel Fisher Treasure Museum in Sebastian, Florida.
2016-2017 – First Mate on Sea Reaper for Maritime Research & Recovery under Capt. Dan Porter.
2017- Present – Captain on Sea Reaper for Maritime Research & Recovery, subcontracting on 1715 and 1622 wreck sites.
LEVIN SHAVERS
Levin Shavers started working on boats as a dive guide in West Palm Beach in June of 2012, with occasional commercial dive trips out of Cape Canaveral for surveying and locating trans-Atlantic cables, as well as commercial fishing and lobstering. In October 2012, Levin started working for a historical salvage group, Seafarer Exploration. He worked on a total of 3 historic shipwreck sites along the east coast of Florida, including the Juno Beach wreck, Lantana and a site located off Melbourne. During his experience with Seafarer, Levin took part in the survey, as well as dig and identify of these sites, and had the opportunity to work with renowned archaeologists John Debry and Jim Sinclair.
In the summer of 2016, Levin began working with another historical salvage company, Plate Fleet Salvage, on the 1715 Fleet. During his work with Plate Fleet Salvage, he was introduced to Dan Porter and began work as a diver with Maritime Research & Recovery in September of 2016 on the Santa Margarita. The following summer, Levin completed his obligations with Plate Fleet Salvage and advanced to the position of Captain with Maritime Research & Recovery in 2017.
Levin has since worked as Captain on the Santa Margarita, 1715 Fleet sites, and a site located off South Carolina. With a total of just under 6 years in the field and a passion for history, archaeology, and paleontology, Levin Shavers is a highly respected captain by all that know him.
KYLE KINGMAN
Kyle Kingman graduated from Rutgers University with Honors in Geology and with a Masters degree in Oceanography and Engineering Geophysics. He is an industry leading geophysicist and world expert in marine remote sensing and spatial analysis, as well as an internationally recognized expert in underwater unexploded ordnance detection. Kyle Kingman has successfully completed over 100 major projects in over 20 countries. This has included most major industry centers as well as some of the most remote places on the planet, ranging from the Arctic to the Sahara, and from the Caribbean to the Mongol border. Kyle has managed numerous offshore projects ranging from the waterline to record-breaking water depths and is accustomed to designing effective and successful technically demanding survey campaigns.
Mr. Kingman has served the US Government through various agencies including serving as Chairman of the Marine Technology Committee, NAOC, as well as the Special Subcommittee for International Affairs, International Technology Committee. Kyle Kingman has consulted for various other governments including Great Britain, Russian, Kazakhstan, and most recently, Norway. In 2012, Kyle Kingman represented the interests of the Norwegian Government on the largest and most expensive underwater power transmission cable project ever attempted, serving as Primary Representative, Technical Review Team Lead, and Task Force Coordinator through the project.
Kyle has an extensive background working as a consultant to numerous private industries and survey companies around the world, ranging from small start-ups to major oil and gas companies. He has successfully implemented and managed numerous companies health, safety and environmental policy with a perfect HSE record.
Kyle has a passion and excellent track record for finding the "unfindable". He has been hand selected for numerous highly secretive and public projects where others before him have failed or haven't attempted.
Mr. Kingman has worked at transitioning methods and technologies developed for governmental UXO projects for use on commercial and private projects. He has lead projects for the American Museum of Natural History, State Museum of Natural History, and multiple television productions.
Since graduating as President of the Rutgers University Geology club, Mr. Kingman has worked with the deep sea submersible Alvin, has developed a digital night vision system to acquire deep sea video in complete darkness, has perfected advanced underwater electromagnetic detection systems to detect ferrous and non-ferrous metals underwater with equal precision as on land, has been involved with testing and development of cutting-edge Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, and helped advanced the field of magnetic gradiometry. Kyle has worked on numerous historical shipwreck projects including the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, and is responsible for finding dozens of wrecks, downed aircraft, and even missing persons around the globe.
Select Commercial Projects Include:
• Client Representative – Lofotringen and Indre Oslofjord, HVAC cable projects
• Task Force Coordinator – North Sea Network project, Norway and UK Governments
• Client Representative – Statnett and National Grid, NSN HVDC interconnection- Norway to UK
• Client Representative – Statnett and Energinet, Skagerrak-4 HVDC pre-lay survey, Denmark and Norway
• Client Representative –NordLink HVDC route survey project, connecting Norway and Germany
• Project manager- St. Julien’s Creek Annex UXO detection /MEC/MMR project: ARM Geophysics, USACE
• Project manager and Sr. Geophysicist- Multiple US Gov't contracts including: Indian Head/Quantico, Hawthorn Army Depot, Martha's Vinyard UXO detection and remediation
• Sr. Geophysicist- Aqua Survey Inc, Flemington, NJ
• Offshore Project Manager - DeepOcean Skagerrak-4 HVDC interconnection route survey
• Offshore Manager - Multiple UXO and pipeline surveys in the North Caspian, Geoken
• Offshore Project Manager - DeepOcean and Statnett, Skagerrak-1-2-3 HVDC cable inspections and tracking, North Sea
• Senior Project Manager and Geophysicist for Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, Inc.
• Field Project Manager- Trans-Bay HVDC Cable project: Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey
• Field Project Manager- Treasure Island HVDC Cable project: Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey.
• Field Project Manager -Neptune HVDC cable route survey inspection: Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey
• Offshore Manager- Offshore wind farm and Met tower, Atlantic City, Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey
• Geophysicist- Long Island Wind Farm site assessment, Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey
• Geophysical Engineer- Fugro Norway, - Ormen Lange deep water excavation, monitoring, and PL installation
• Offshore Manager - Multiple pipeline route surveys and UXO surveys in the North Caspian, Geoken
• Sr. Geophysicist- Multiple 2D HR Digital and Analog site surveys and pipeline prelim surveys in the Northern Caspian, Geoken
• Party Chief and Geophysicist for Marine Surveys - Search for Natalee Holloway, Aruba
• Party Chief and Geophysicist for Marine Surveys - Dozens of successful projects including well site surveys pipeline pre-lays, and damage assessments
• Geophysicist - LNG Pipeline route survey and risk assessment for Fugro West, and Fugro Seafloor Surveys Inc. -Woodside Oceanway Safe Energy Project; Bluefin AUV
• Geophysicist for Fugro Seafloor Surveys Inc. (Seattle) providing support for sea trials Bluefin AUV
• QA/QC Geophysical Engineer for project Falcon-2, Fugro Survey Middle East, Alcatel and Flag telecoms
• Geophysicist -LNG Pipeline route survey and risk assessment: Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey
• Geophysicist in Gulf of Mexico- APS, post-hurricane Katrina damage assessment to oil fields, pipelines, and infrastructure