14 DAY TRIAL // Underwater explorers have managed to pull 61 tons of silver from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. And to think that I consider finding a coin on the beach is a sign of good luck.
The 2,792 silver bars, each weighing 69 pounds (31.2 kilograms), were recovered from the wreckage of a British cargo ship, i.e. the SS Gairsoppa.
This vessel sank in 1941, when it had a not-so-friendly encounter with Nazi vessels that sent some torpedoes its way.
Sources say that the cargo's remains have spent the past decades just 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) beneath the Atlantic Ocean's surface, at a distance of roughly 300 miles (482.8 kilometers) from Ireland's coastline.
By the looks of it, the explorers who worked on this project didn't exactly have a field day. On the contrary, recovering all this silver proved a painstaking task.
“This was an extremely complex recovery, which was complicated by the sheer size and structure of the SS Gairsoppa,” argued Greg Stemm, the chief executive officer of Odyssey Marine Exploration.
“To add to the complications, the remaining insured silver was stored in a small compartment that was very difficult to access,” he added.
Apparently, Odyssey Marine Exploration will be allowed to keep 80% of this silver. The British government will be entrusted with the rest.