Overloading and strong currents in the Nan'ao sea area are other possible reasons.
Except for its deck most of the ship is in good shape and experts say that the ship is far more important than the goods it carried, as there are few records of the shipbuilding technology 400 years ago in China.
It is hoped that a detailed study on the shipwreck will shed light on shipbuilding during the Ming Dynasty and provide an insight into the design and construction of the renowned fleet of Treasure Boats.
Commanded by Zheng He these ships completed seven cross-Indian Ocean voyages in the early Ming Dynasty. This fleet was built 200 years before Nan'ao-1.
"We seldom see genuine examples of ocean-faring vessels from the Ming Dynasty," says Mao Peiqi, a historian from the Beijing-based Renmin University. "We are very interested in this."
The salvage team is still devising a plan to hoist the vessel from the water.
"It is still too early to tell when and how we are going to lift the ship out of the water," says Cui Yong, executive leader of the ship's underwater recovery mission. "Our pressing task is to recover as much as of cargo before the monsoon season arrives in July."
The excavation was scheduled to begin on September 26, 2009, but was postponed due to the severe weather conditions.
By Lin Shujuan
Editor: Feng Hui
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