(All images by telegraphtv via YouTube)
A record 48-tons of silver bullion worth around £155 million has been recovered from a World War Two shipwreck off the coast of Ireland. The cargo ship SS Gairsoppa was sunk by a German torpedo in 1941, 300 miles south-west of Galway. The operation to recover 1,203 silver bars from the wreck was the heaviest and deepest of its kind to date.
The silver, discovered last September, belongs to the British Government, which reportedly paid £325,000 to the owners of the cargo. At the time of its sinking, the Gairsoppa was being used by the British Government’s War Risk Insurance programme. The ship carried 85 crew, including two gunners, but only one officer survived the incident.
The treasure was recovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration and is set to be featured on Channel 5 in the UK and Discovery Channel in the US. Odyssey said the recovered bullion accounted for around 43 per cent of the insured bars – roughly a fifth of the silver believed to be on board.
Meanwhile, the firm is set to salvage a further 600,000 ounces of silver believed to be on another shipwreck, the SS Mantola, 100 miles away from the Gairsoppa. Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said: “This technology will be applicable to other modern shipwreck projects currently being scheduled as well as our deep ocean mineral exploration activities.”
Watch the Telegraph’s full YouTube video here.
Keep reading – explore these Ship Graveyards, Abandoned Boats and Shipyards, and don’t miss the Great Carrier Reef.
