They are British ships but they now belong to Canada.

The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, the vessels from the doomed Franklin Expedition were gifted to us today by the U.K.

The vessels are considered the most archaeologically important shipwrecks in the world; well-preserved in the icy waters of the Arctic and chalk full of thousands of artifacts.

It was a secret the sea had kept for nearly 150 years.   And a discovery that was great cause for celebration.

The HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, better known as the Franklin Expedition, got trapped in arctic ice in 1845 during Franklin's search for a northwest passage.  The ships were found just a few years ago 20 meters under Nunavut's Terror Bay.

Today, those ships were "gifted" to Canada and the Inuit Community by the United Kingdom.

“I'm delighted we have an agreement which respects all of these communities,” said Susan Le Jeune D’Allegeerschecque, the British High Commissioner to Canada at a news conference at the Canadian Museum of History today, “and it allows us to continue with this work and find out more about this incredible story and eliminate some of the mysteries that still exist.”

They are mysteries that Canadian archaeologists are very anxious to solve. Jarred Picher is the director of Archaeology and History with Parks Canada, “We know there are thousands upon thousands of artifacts.  We've already located the bell from H-M-S Terror.  Our goal is to target rewarding areas of the ship to explore. For example this year, we are hoping to do lots of work around Franklin's cabin because we know there is lots of potential for high value items to be located there.”

Many of those items are currently on display at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa but they all belong to the U.K.  The exhibit landed at the museum just last month but it's only here for a short time before it travels to a couple of stops in the U.S. before heading back to the United Kingdom.

“There are thousands of artifacts on the ship and we will be doing exploration this summer which is very exciting,” says Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of the Environment, who also attended today’s news conference.

The Inuit will play a large part in that exploration since it was the Inuit who helped find the Franklin ships.  Now they are pushing the federal government to help them fund a museum in Nunavut to reflect that history.

“It's northern history, it's arctic history, and Canadian history,” says Torsten Diesel with the Inuit Heritage Trust, “so it is important for northern residents to be part of that history.”