Second batch of silver extracted from SS Gairsoppa

Well known in the diving world treasure hunters from Odyssey Marine Exploration have taken from the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa the second, huge part of the silver cargo, which the ship was carrying. Maybe there would be nothing unusual in this, if not for the fact that we are talking about a find worth tens of millions of dollars, which rested on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of… 5km!

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The mining action began in 2012 and was divided into 2 stages. The first stage was conducted in July 2012, and as a result of the work conducted, nearly 50 tonnes of the precious metal were brought to the surface. The second stage, conducted in July of this year, made it possible to extract a further 60 tonnes of silver.

Never before has an excavation of this magnitude been carried out. Both the value of the find and its inaccessibility (both the depth at which the wreck rests and its construction) meant that Odyssey Marine Exploration, once again decided to show why they are known throughout the diving world.

The SS Gairsoppa, flying a British flag, was sunk by a German U-boat after leaving port in 1941, joining the list of victims of the so-called “wolf packs”. The UK government, after paying some £325,000 compensation to a private carrier, became the owner of the sunken vessel. From today’s perspective, it is clear that this was a great deal, even despite the agreement with Odyssey, who will receive 4/5 of the value of the find.

Source: shipwreck.net