Wreck from Franklin Northwest Passage expedition is HMS Erebus

Experts have identified a shipwreck uncovered in the Arctic last month as the HMS Erebus, the ship British Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin was probably sailing on when it vanished with another vessel 170 years ago, Canada's prime minister says.

Experts believed the shipwreck was either the HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, both of which sailed under Franklin's command on an unsuccessful search for the Northwest Passage. Stephen Harper said on Wednesday that experts had identified the wreck as the HMS Erebus, which Franklin was believed to have been aboard and perhaps died on in 1848.

Harper's office said underwater archaeologists made the confirmation after a meticulous review of data and artefacts from the Arctic Ocean's seabed.

Canada announced in 2008 that it would look for the ships, and Harper's government has poured millions into the venture, which is part of his plan to boost Canadian nationalism and a sense of ownership of the north.

Harper's government made the project a priority as it looked to assert Canada's sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, where melting Arctic ice in recent years has unlocked the very shipping route Franklin was seeking. Canada says it owns the passage; the United States and others say it is international territory.

The well-preserved wreck of one of the vessels was found last month, 11 metres below the surface, near King William Island, about 2,000km northwest of Toronto. "It is in astonishing condition," said John Geiger, president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, who was with the search team.