[img]http://i.imgur.com/8EOmH.jpg[/img]
[quote][b]Deep-sea explorers have pulled up 48 tons of silver treasure from three miles below the surface of the North Atlantic in what may be the deepest, largest precious metal recovery in history.[/b]
The haul was retrieved from the S.S. Gairsoppa, a 412-foot steel-hulled British cargo ship that sank in February 1941.
The expedition, by Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company specializing in shipwreck exploration, [b]recovered 1,203 bars of silver, totaling 1.4 million ounces.[/b] Viewers will have the chance to follow the pursuit of the lost treasure on an upcoming Discovery Channel special produced by JWM Productions.
The cache has been transported to a secure facility in the United Kingdom, which contracted the project under the Department of Transport. Under the contract, [b]Odyssey will retain 80 percent of the net value of recovered goods[/b], after expenses, according to a press release.The Gairsoppa was a merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat during World War II. Since the U.K. government had insured the privately owned cargo under the War Risk Insurance program, it had paid out the owners for the lost silver and then became owners of the lost cargo.
The Odyssey expedition has so far managed to recover an estimated 43 percent of the total lost silver treasure. The company hopes to recover the balance of the silver within 90 days.
Recovering the loot, however, has been no easy task.
[b]"With the shipwreck lying approximately three miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, this was a complex operation," Greg Stemm, Odyssey Chief Executive Officer said in the press release. "Our capacity to conduct precision cuts and successfully complete the surgical removal of bullion from secure areas on the ship demonstrates our capabilities to undertake complicated tasks in the very deep ocean."[/b]
Odyssey began its search for the sunken cargo ship in the summer of 2011 and confirmed its location by September 2011. The company says so far they have found no human remains, but in the event that they do they [b]"will be treated with the utmost respect and the U.K. Department for Transport will be immediately notified."[/b]
[b]The marine exploration company is also in the process of exploring another British sunken ship, the S.S. Mantola, which is believed to hold an estimated 600,000 ounces of additional U.K.-insured silver.[/b]
More information on the Gairsoppa project, including pictures of the operation, can also be found on Odyssey's website.[/quote]
[url]http://news.discovery.com/history/biggest-treasure-yet-hauled-from-shipwreck-120718.html#mkcpgn=fbdsc8[/url]
That's quite the find. There's still millions of shipwrecks waiting to be rediscovered. I bet the crew is very pleased.
I was hoping for like gold doubloons and the such but this is still cool as hell. This is the kind of thing you dream of when you're in that sort of field.
I wonder how much it is worth in total.
EDIT:
According to my math and some questionable conversion sources, it could be around €33.8 Million.
I've always been confused by what happens when you pull this kind of shit up.
I assume the government usually takes the materials off you, but I think you get some kind of compensation.
Curious to hear if any of you know the laws/regulations surrounding this stuff.
[QUOTE=G3rman;36834574]I wonder how much it is worth in total.[/QUOTE]
What they've recovered so far, $42,140,000, which is 43% of what's there. So basically $100 mil worth. Silver is $30.10 an ounce at the moment
[QUOTE=G3rman;36834574]I wonder how much it is worth in total.[/QUOTE]
About $38 million
[QUOTE=Empty_Shadow;36834587]I've always been confused by what happens when you pull this kind of shit up.
I assume the government usually takes the materials off you, but I think you get some kind of compensation.
Curious to hear if any of you know the laws/regulations surrounding this stuff.[/QUOTE]
Depends on the country. In some the government seizes all treasures recovered, in some you get to keep a percent, and I'm not sure but maybe there are some where you get to keep it all. In this case, they get 80% of the net value of the find.
[editline]19th July 2012[/editline]
You could build a silver house with those bricks.
[QUOTE=slbobo;36834549]I was hoping for like gold doubloons and the such but this is still cool as hell. This is the kind of thing you dream of when you're in that sort of field.[/QUOTE]
Scrooge McDuck already looted all the doubloons as he got the map of all sinked trade ships of caribbean :v:
Fuck, just imagine what's still left to find in all that water
[QUOTE=RichyZ;36835376]sea monsters and diving suit clad men with spearguns[/QUOTE]
When Auguste Piccard tested the first bathyscaphe, it originally had two giant, poison-tipped electrified harpoons intended to kill sea monsters if one tried to hunt them. (and to collect them as specimens, of course!) However, the harpoons were not installed in time for the first dive so they had to leave them off. Jacques Cousteau's good friend Frédéric Dumas was quite disappointed at this because he was looking forward to catching a sea monster.
Tells you how much we knew about the sea back then.
Sometimes it's awesome to ponder not only what or who we might find down there, but rather how much of our own shit is still down there. Because seriously, seabeds are full of sunken ships, completely forgotten and left to rot.
Good thing its going back to where it came from.
Reminds me of the plot to "White collar"
Wow, that IS a lot of silver. I wonder what it could be used for? Plenty of it for medicine, since silver is a germ-killer after all.
Huh they're keeping 80% of the silver? But technically the British government owns that silver.
I recall reading a book about U-Boats where it was mentioned about one submarine sinking a UK ship transporting Gold/silver. This ship was probably it.
A shame that under UK law all treasure troves belong to the queen unless this is in international waters, right?
Dude guys we should be treasure hunters!!
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;36838727]Dude guys we should be treasure hunters!![/QUOTE]
Facepunch submarine kickstarter.
[QUOTE=Civil;36839464]Facepunch submarine kickstarter.[/QUOTE]
Yes Civil the British government owns the silver:
[quote]it had paid out the owners for the lost silver and then became owners of the lost cargo.[/quote]
Its theirs, they paid for it.
[QUOTE=Civil;36839464]Facepunch submarine kickstarter.[/QUOTE]
Put nuclear warheads just in case
[QUOTE=TheTalon;36834605]What they've recovered so far, $42,140,000, which is 43% of what's there. So basically $100 mil worth. Silver is $30.10 an ounce at the moment[/QUOTE]
A sudden introduction of 1.4 million Oz of silver into the market is probably going to affect the price
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.