Startling images of ship and submarine wrecks in Irish waters have been published for the first time.

Among the images are shots of the Lusitania off the Cork coast and US army tanks on the seabed 28km off Donegal.

The wrecks are featured in a new book published this week by Government Publications, called Warships, U-Boats & Liners.

The book is based on more than a decade of survey work by marine biologists, the Geological Survey and the Marine Institute.

Over 300 shipwrecks have been catalogued; the majority of them were known about, but a number of shipwrecks were previously uncharted.

The book includes details on the background of the vessels, the loss of life, and images of how they lie on the sea floor.

Over 300 shipwrecks have been catalogued around the island of Ireland.

The Empire Heritage (above) was a tanker for the Ministry of War Transport. It was part of a convoy of nearly 100 ships en route from New York to the Clyde, when it was torpedoed and sunk 28km northwest of Malin Head on 8 September 1944.

The Empire Heritage's cargo included military tanks and vehicles, which sank with the vessel and now lie scattered on the sea floor.

The ironclad battleship the HMS Vanguard (above), which sank in the 1870s, is said to be one of the most spectacular shipwrecks in Ireland. The vessel sank off the coast of Cork, when it was accidentally rammed by her sister ship, HMS Iron Duke, in thick fog. No lives were lost as the crew got safely to lifeboats.

The Justica (above) passenger liner, capable of carrying 3,430 passengers, was lost on 20 July 1918 off Malin Head, Co Donegal. On 19 July, it was en route from Liverpool to New York when it was attacked by UB-64. It survived that attempt. The next day, it was attacked again when it was under tow. Eventually it sank, with the loss of 16 lives.

The HMS Audacious (above), a 23,000-tonne dreadnought battleship, considered to be unsinkable, sank in 27 October 1914 off Malin Head, Co Donegal, after striking a mine.

The Audacious (above) now lies at the bottom of the sea, with the nearly obliterated remains of the bow lying almost at right-angles to its starboard side.

The Lusitania (above) passenger liner, which was the largest ship ever built at the time, was lost on 7 May 1915 off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co Cork. 1,198 lives were lost when the liner was attacked by U-20 and sank in 18 minutes.

The Lusitania (above) was one of the worst maritime tragedies of WWI. For days afterwards, bodies washed ashore along the Cork coastline or were recovered by local fishing boats. Their bodies were buried in mass graves in Cobh.

The Calchas (above) cargo vessel was lost on 11 May 1917 off Valentia island, Co Kerry. At the time, the vessel was bringing vital food supplies and 10,000 tonnes of munitions from New York to Liverpool for the war effort. It was attacked without warning by U-80. It took an hour for the vessel to sink.

The UC-42 German U-boat (above) is one of some 15 submarines sunk off the coast of Ireland during WWI. It was accidentally sunk, when one of the mines it had been releasing detonated prematurely. Its crew of 26/ 27 were lost off Roches Point, Co Cork, on 10 September 1917.

All information and images from the book: Warships, U-Boats & Liners.