An official attempt to find a ship containing £70m worth of silver, which was sunk during the second world war, has been announced by the British government. It has teamed up with a private company in the hope of salvaging the treasure.
The target is the SS Gairsoppa, which was on its way from India to Britain in 1941 with a cargo of silver ingots, pig iron and tea when it began to run out of fuel off the coast of Ireland. Trying to make its way to the safety of Galway harbour, it was spotted and sunk by the German submarine U101.
Though most of the Gairsoppa’s crew were lost, three survived in a lifeboat and reached the Cornish coast two weeks later. Two of them died trying to get ashore; the sole survivor, Richard Ayres, who was made an MBE for his attempts to rescue his fellow sailors, lived until 1992.
The wreck lies at least 6,500ft below the surface. After a competitive tender, the government has chosen a US company with a track record of deep-sea finds to conduct the search. Under the agreement, Odyssey Marine Exploration will have two years to find and bring up the silver.
The firm’s chief executive, Greg Stemm, said he had a good idea of the ship’s location. “I’m reckoning on about 60 days of search before we begin trying to bring up the silver,” he said.
The agreement includes strict protocols to halt the salvage operation if human remains are found in the wreck.
If the silver is recovered it will be split between Odyssey and the transport department. It is believed that Odyssey will get the majority of the booty, originally valued at £600,000 but estimated to be worth £70m at today’s prices.
The Sole Survivor of the SS Gairsoppa
SS Gairsoppa (Wikipedia)
SS Gairsoppa (Shipwrecks UK)
Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks
The Last Dive: A Father and Son’s Fatal Descent into the Ocean’s Depths
