Sea Rogue

Sea Rogue was designed by ex-Navy veterans at Software Sorcery and was released for the PC in the early nineties. Sea Rogue is basically a simulation centering around the exploration of shipwrecks and other undersea wonders.
As the captain of an exploring vessel, you must travel through the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe seeking wreckages of naval vessels, pirate ships and so forth. With luck, the ships you find will contain treasure to add to your bank. You must talk to people in taverns, interview esteemed researchers and pore over tomes in the library to find maps that will give you the coordinates of possible finds.

Upon locating a wreck, send down the appropriate combination of spear gun-toting crew members, and metal detectors to scour the sandy ocean bottom for the remains of anything valuable. (Creating characters with the right attributes for your crew is very much like outfitting a group of adventurers in a standard role playing game). Return to port with your coins, pocket watches and goblets, sell them, then upgrade your outfit to continue seeking more treasure. The ultimate goal of the game is to earn enough to purchase the Sea Rogue. This is a treasure-hunting submarine with improved combat capabilities, high top speeds, and probes for seeking even more elusive treasure. After acquiring this fabled high-tech vessel, you should be able to hunt up enough treasure to retire comfortably from the life of a traveling treasure hunter.
Each shipwreck contains historical references based on the type of ship and the location of the wreck. As a treasure hunter, you will have some idea of what type of loot you will be collecting based on those facts. Some wrecks are more lucrative than others. Some wrecks just proved a tedious search of grains upon grains of shifting sands. Many of the other actions are also very similar to actual shipwreck exploration and treasure hunting. There are dangers to contend with, such as sharks, and also mines that could detonate and cause damage to your equipment or yourself…as well as further burying the loot. Oxygen is limited, making time a factor every time you send your crew to the ocean floor. There are also five layers of sand and silt on the sea bed that need to be carefully explored and mapped to succeed as a treasure hunter.
Overall, this is a unique concept as simulations go. Most involve war, space or flight. This is a nice, peaceful sim with a clear plot and goal that requires some strategy for success.