[yatrahnualenu]

http://sync.sympatico.ca/news/conten...nenabled=false

MAN!! That's a LOT of silver!!

A Florida exploration company has confirmed a discovery that is the stuff of which shipwreck movies are made ?a WWII-era British cargo ship known as the SS Gairsoppa carrying silver valued today at more than $200 million US.

Odyssey Marine Exploration says it has confirmed the identity and location of the shipwreck site ?nearly 4,700 metres below the surface of the North Atlantic, about 480 kilometres off the coast of Ireland in international waters.

The Tampa company, working under contract for the British government, says research and official documents indicate the ship was carrying seven million ounces of silver, including more than three million ounces of private silver bullion insured by the government.

If recovered, it would be the largest known precious metal cargo ever retrieved after being lost at sea.

Mark Gordon, Odyssey president and chief operating officer, says the shipwreck area was located with a system called side-scan sonar, and then visually inspected in less than two months from the start of the operation.

"We've accomplished the first phase of this project - the location and identification of the target shipwreck - and now we're hard at work planning for the recovery phase," said Andrew Craig, Odyssey senior project manager. "Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well-suited for the recovery of this silver cargo."

The SS Gairsoppa was a 125.5-metre steel-hulled cargo ship that was torpedoed in February 1941. In 2010, the U.K. Government Department for Transport awarded Odyssey the salvage contract for the cargo of the ship.

Salvage operations targeted for spring

Under the salvage agreement, Odyssey would retain 80 per cent of the net salvaged value of the silver bullion recovered under the contract, while the British government will get the rest, the company says.

To inspect the site, an Odyssey team conducted remotely operated vehicle operations. The video and photographs acquired during the exploration of the shipwreck were reviewed and analyzed to confirm the identity of the shipwreck as being the SS Gairsoppa.

The expedition and resulting data were used to evaluate the condition of the shipwreck and to begin planning for recovery operations.

After the ship was torpedoed, it's believed all 85 men aboard died, including one officer who survived nearly two weeks in a lifeboat.

"Even though records indicate that the lifeboats were launched before the ship sank, sadly most of her crew did not survive the long journey to shore," said Neil Cunningham Dobson, Odyssey's principal marine archeologist. "By finding this shipwreck, and telling the story of its loss, we pay tribute to the brave merchant sailors who lost their lives."

Odyssey has begun the process of specifying and assembling the tools and equipment for salvage operations, which are likely to begin this spring.

"While some people might wonder about the potential complexity of salvage at this depth, we have already conducted a thorough analysis of the best tools and techniques to conduct this operation and are confident that the salvage will be conducted efficiently and on a timely basis," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey's chief executive officer.

"Hundreds of modern cargo ships like this have been salvaged since the mid-20th century, some at depths of thousands of metres. We were fortunate to find the shipwreck sitting upright, with the holds open and easily accessible. This should enable us to unload cargo through the hatches as would happen with a floating ship alongside a cargo terminal."
--i wonder who owned the 3 million ounces of private silver bullion that the gov't insured??


--who knows what it'll be worth when they finally get it to the surface??

[Nmoitmzr]

My first boating accident. I've never quite been the same since....

...so, how old were you in 1941? lol

[WrinnaArraple]

Same as obamas dad........

[WhonyGataxott]

Silver Treasure, Worth $18 Million, Found in North Atlantic



Sea explorers announced Monday the discovery of a new sunken treasure that they plan to retrieve from the bottom of the North Atlantic.

Off Ireland in 1917, a German torpedo sank the British steam ship Mantola, sending the vessel and its cargo of an estimated 20 tons of silver to the seabed more than a mile down. At today’s prices, the metal would be worth about $18 million.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Tampa, Fla., said it had visually confirmed the identity of the Mantola with a tethered robot last month during an expedition and had been contracted by the British Department for Transport (a successor to the Ministry of War Transport) to retrieve the lost riches.

In recent years, cash-strapped governments have started looking to lost cargoes as a way to raise money. They do so because the latest generation of robots, lights, cameras and claws can withstand the deep’s crushing pressures and have opened up a new world of shipwreck recovery.

“A lot of new and interesting opportunities are presenting themselves,” said Greg Stemm, the chief executive of Odyssey. The new finding, he added, is the company’s second discovery of a deep-ocean wreck for the British government this year.

In such arrangements, private companies put their own money at risk in costly expeditions and split any profits. In this case, Odyssey is to get 80 percent of the silver’s value and the British government 20 percent. It plans to attempt the recovery this spring, along with that of its previous find.

Last month, Odyssey announced its discovery of the British steam ship Gairsoppa off Ireland and estimated its cargo at up to 240 tons of silver — a trove worth more than $200 million. The Gairsoppa was torpedoed in 1941.

Both ships had been owned by the British Indian Steam Navigation Company and both were found by Odyssey during expeditions in the past few months. Odyssey said that the Mantola’s sinking in 1917 had prompted the British government to pay out an insurance claim on about 600,000 troy ounces of silver, or more than 20 tons.

Mr. Stemm said the Mantola’s silver should make “a great target for testing some new technology” of deep-sea retrieval.

The Mantola was less than a year old when, on Feb. 4, 1917, she steamed out of London on her last voyage, bound for Calcutta. According to Odyssey, the ship carried 18 passengers, 165 crew members and diverse cargo. The captain was David James Chivas, the great-nephew of the Chivas Brothers, known for their Chivas Regal brand of Scotch whiskey.

Four days out of port, a German submarine fired a torpedo and the ship sank with minimal loss of life.

In an expedition last month, Odyssey lowered a tethered robot that positively identified the wreck. The evidence included the ship’s dimensions, its layout and a display of painted letters on the stern that fit the words “Mantola” and “Glasgow,” the ship’s home port.

Photographs show the hulk covered in rivulets of rust known as rusticles, which look like brownish icicles. One picture shows a large sea creature poised near the ship’s railing.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/sc...reck.html?_r=1

vid highlights at link

[yatrahnualenu]

thats two...

i wonder how many more ships that were sunk during the war in that region were carrying massive amounts of silver?
starting to look like the sea floor is practically littered with the things! lol

[Frinzer]

This means its finally rose to a price where its profitable to recover.

[WrinnaArraple]

silver and gold is always profitable to dig up

I have never seen a expedition team dispatched to the bottom of the ocean to recovery paper money

[NKUDirectory]

I was just a young pup at the time, a young mariner who's dreams were as far off as the horizon. Mamboni was Captian of the ship actually, and had taken me under his wing, to learn the ways of the sea.. I'll never forget Mamboni's last command of the ship. He looked at me, looked out at that frightful storm and said, "Son, this is how's it's done. Full Steam Ahead!!!"

As the ship went down, and my life raft drifted away..I caught a glimpse of Mamboni briefly on the foredeck completely exposed to the crashing waves. I saw him pounding his chest furiously. I believe he was shouting "You call THIS a storm!"

I was very surprised and excited to find out years later that he was a member of this forum, obviously.

You know me well young solid! I eat sea storms for breakfast!!!!! Grrrrrr!!!

[TudareWQT]

I was just a young pup at the time, a young mariner who's dreams were as far off as the horizon. Mamboni was Captian of the ship actually, and had taken me under his wing, to learn the ways of the sea.. I'll never forget Mamboni's last command of the ship. He looked at me, looked out at that frightful storm and said, "Son, this is how's it's done. Full Steam Ahead!!!"

As the ship went down, and my life raft drifted away..I caught a glimpse of Mamboni briefly on the foredeck completely exposed to the crashing waves. I saw him pounding his chest furiously. I believe he was shouting "You call THIS a storm!"

I was very surprised and excited to find out years later that he was a member of this forum, obviously.

A single picture of the fateful day survives. In the aftermath of the storm, the fearless Mamboni goes down with his ship. The Heavens shook that day. Some will tell you that the Gods themselves wept.

[NKUDirectory]

A single picture of the fateful day survives. In the aftermath of the storm, the fearless Mamboni goes down with his ship. The Heavens shook that day. Some will tell you that the Gods themselves wept.

Heck, my eyes are moisting up at your vivid account of my demise (or is the silver going under that brings tears to my eyes?).

[prpaims]

those are Penoles bars. my personal favorite in 1000 ounce bars.

it's a glass half empty/ half full kind of thing.

it's not JUST a boating accident, it's a long term storage plan.

[baskentt]

Be back soon

[yatrahnualenu]

those are Penoles bars. my personal favorite in 1000 ounce bars.

it's a glass half empty/ half full kind of thing.

it's not JUST a boating accident, it's a long term storage plan.

ahh! me thinks there be more truth to that statement than we know!

[prpaims]

ahh! me thinks there be more truth to that statement than we know!

if i ever get one i'd like to use it as a center-piece on the dining room table.

until then, there's always pictures - actually, this is my computer desktop -




i wonder if silver has ever gone into a black hole.

and if so, where did it come out ?

can we build a black hole that sends us the Gold, Silver, Platinum, & Palladium and sends the other dust to some other part of the galaxy ?