The Brazilian Navy has confirmed that a wreck found in 2011 is that of a Brazilian auxiliary ship sunk in 1944 by a torpedo from the German U-boat U-861.

About 100 lives were lost when the Vital de Oliveira went under in July 1944, out of about 270 people on board.

The boat was transporting personnel and supplies along the Brazilian coast when it was attacked, the Brazilian Navy said in a release Friday. It was the only Brazilian military vessel sunk by the enemy during World War II.

Sonar imaging technology helped the Brazilian Navy confirm on Jan. 16 that the wreck, first found more than a decade ago, was in fact the Vital de Oliveira.

The boat was first found after an unnamed fisherman had his net stuck due to something on the sea floor. He asked divers and brothers Jose Luiz and Everaldo Pompermayer Meriguete for help in 2011, according to CNN.

They in turn contacted deep sea diver Domingos Afonso Jorio.

Mr. Jorio found that the fishing net was snagged on a cannon of the sunken ship and notified the Brazilian Navy of the discovery.

Brazilian authorities will now using the sonar imaging technology to create a three-dimensional model of the sunken vessel in order to determine its condition and the effect its environment is having on it.

“These models will allow a detailed assessment of the remaining structural conditions and the relationship of the vessel with the environment,” Lt. Capt. Caio Cezar Pereira Demilio said, according to a Washington Times translation of the original Portuguese done with computer assistance.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.