Severe coastal erosion caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi exposed a centuries-old shipwreck in Vietnam, providing a narrow window to salvage what experts say could be a historically significant find.

Initially discovered in 2023 off the coast of Hoi An, the 57-foot vessel — whose heavy wood-ribbed hull survived hundreds of years of rough seas almost perfectly intact — was resubmerged before authorities could reclaim it.

Experts have not yet dated the wreck, but preliminary findings suggest it was built between the 14th and 16th centuries — when UNESCO-listed Hoi An was at the center of a thriving regional trade in silk, ceramics and spices.

"We are currently preparing to apply for an emergency excavation (permit)," Pham Phu Ngoc, director of the Hoi An Center for the Preservation of World C

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