← Back to All Videos

Largest Discovery of Silver found on Shipwreck

Blog Sep 28, 2011

In February of 1941 a British merchant vessel, carrying Silver, named the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German submarine 300 miles off the coast of Ireland in international waters. Ships that carries the type of cargo that she was carrying is normally escorted by a military ship for protection. As they were sailing the Gairsoppa was running low on fuel and due to strong headwinds, heavy cargo and high seas it needed to leave her convoy and head for Galway harbor for fuel.  Shortly thereafter is when the attack occurred.

The ship was on its way home from India with 7,000 tons of cargo which included tea, pig iron and silver. On February 16th German sub U-101 hit the ship with a torpedo just behind the bridge causing it to sink in 20 minutes.

85 crewmen were left stranded, 32 men made it into lifeboats, only one survived. Richard Ayres the second officer on the ship made it to shore 13 days after the attack at the Lizard Lighthouse in Cornwall.

In 1989 the British government invited prospects the opportunity to find and salvage the ship. Nearly 20 years later in January of 2010, the government awarded a two-year contract to a US based company called Odyssey Marine Exploration (the highest bidder) to find and salvage the ship. Almost two years into the search, Odyssey announced that it had found and indentified the SS Gairsoppa 4,700 meters below the surface.

“Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well suited for the recovery of this silver cargo,” said Odyssey senior project manager Andrew Craig.

The ship is said to contain 7 million ounces (219 tons) of silver worth around $210 million, which is down over 25% due to silver’s recent pullback. Odyssey is contracted to receive 80% of the haul’s value with 20% going to the British government. The operation is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012 to recover the bullion silver.

Secure Your Future With Gold & Silver

Access expert advice and transparent pricing—backed by decades of leadership in retirement protection.
Schedule Strategy Call

Sources & References In This Article

Tags

Tags: ,

Similar Posts

Blog Jun 2, 2025

$100 Billion ‘Ghost Field’ Discovery Could Power America for 30,000 Years

Learn More
Blog May 19, 2025

ECB Sounds Alarm on Gold Surge – Fears Will Trigger Financial Collapse

Learn More
Blog May 14, 2025

The Economic ‘Storm’ Will Get Worse: Is the U.S. Headed for a Radical Reset?

Learn More
Blog May 5, 2025

Will U.S. Basel III Unleash Gold? BIS’ New Reset Plan

Learn More
Blog Apr 30, 2025

China ‘In a Panic’ to Start War, The U.S. is Preparing : Gordon Chang

Learn More
Blog Apr 29, 2025

O’Leary: Mark Carney Faces ‘Hell of a Time’ Fixing Trudeau’s Economy, Sees Early Election

Learn More
Blog Apr 28, 2025

No Gold? You’re Doomed In The Reset War

Learn More
Blog Apr 25, 2025

Fed’s Desperate Bid to Stop Gold Price – Why it Will Backfire

Learn More