“The biggest surprise was that the ship goo had life in it at all,” researcher Cody Sheik, who discovered the substance, said in a press release. “We thought we’d find nothing. But surprisingly, we found DNA, and it wasn’t too destroyed, nor was the biomass too low.”

After further analysis, the team reconstructed 20 genomes from the sample. Some appear to represent entirely new branches of life, including what could be a previously unknown order of archaea and even a new bacterial phylum.

Inside the goo, scientists found microbes that thrive in semi-warm environments with no oxygen — conditions that closely match those inside the ship’s mechanical systems. Researchers believe the organisms may have hitchhiked on oil used to grease the rudder, remaining dormant until conditions allowed them to grow.