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WW1 wrecks to be bought on... eBay!

Listen to this article An opportunity has arisen on the popular auction site eBay to buy the wrecks of WW1 German warships lying on the seabed in the waters surrounding Orkney. The 4 wrecks, which have been rusting for 100 years, are up for sale for a total of £810,000. All the vessels up for

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: June 21, 2019 - 17:12

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 18:20

Listen to this article

An opportunity has arisen on the popular auction site eBay to buy the wrecks of WW1 German warships lying on the seabed in the waters surrounding Orkney. The 4 wrecks, which have been rusting for 100 years, are up for sale for a total of £810,000.

All the vessels up for sale are already available for divers to visit. However, it is forbidden to touch the wrecks, artifacts in their vicinity and to explore the interior of the sunken German ships.

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The opportunity to purchase the four wrecks is being described by the agent brokering the sale as a “unique opportunity”. The new owner will not only be able to conduct exploration inside the units they have purchased, but also to excavate anything they see fit. Additionally, the site will be able to be turned into a tourist attraction and profit from its operation.

Among the ships up for sale are the battleships SMS “Kronprinz Wilhelm”, SMS “Konig” and SMS “Markgraf”, each for £250,000. In addition, fourth on the list of ships up for sale is the cruiser SMS “Karlsruhe”, valued at £60,000. All the ships were sunk at Scapa Flow in 1919.

The seller is 70-year-old Thomas Clark, who acquired the rights in 1981.

[blockquote style=”2″]”Owning and being able to dive these legendary wrecks has been an absolute pleasure and I regret not being able to do more with them. I look forward to handing them over to their new owner and hope they have the opportunity to fulfil all their aspirations for the wrecks.” [/blockquote]

Source: stv.tv
Photo: South West News Service

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About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.