MACHU was originated as a three-year project involving seven countries sponsored by the European Union’s Culture 2000 programme. The project ran from September 2006 to August 2009. As a result, the MACHU project initiated the development of a web-based GIS application for management and research. The project aimed to support new and better ways for effective management of our underwater cultural heritage and to make information about our common underwater cultural heritage accessible to researchers and policy makers.