New
York Times: As a way to raise money, strapped governments
have begun looking to retrieve treasure from sunken ships. The
British government recently contracted with a Florida company
called
Odyssey Marine
Exploration to retrieve an estimated 20 tons of silver from
a vessel that was sunk off the coast of Ireland during World
War I. The SS
Mantola, owned by the British Indian Steam Navigation
Company, was attacked by a German torpedo in 1917. At
today’s prices the metal it carried would be worth about
$18 million.To locate sunken craft, Odyssey technicians comb
the sea floor with side-scan sonar and magnetometers. Then they
send down a tethered robot to capture real-time video images of
any interesting anomalies. For the
Mantola, they were able to identify the wreck by
noting the ship’s dimensions, its layout, and a display
of painted letters on the stern. Last month Odyssey discovered
another wreck, of the British steamship SS
Gairsoppa, off the coast of Ireland; its cargo is
estimated to be worth more than $200 million. The salvage
expedition for the
Mantola and
Gairsoppa is planned for spring 2012.
