The wreck of a great warship has histroical and possibly monetary value, writes Frank Millar, London Editor
THE DISCOVERY of the wreck of HMS Victory – which sank in a storm in 1744, taking some 900 sailors and all other crew to their deaths – has solved one of the greatest shipwreck mysteries in naval history.
If its reported treasure has survived the intervening years on the bottom of the English Channel the British treasury might also hope to land an unexpected windfall to the tune of $1 billion (€0.79 billion) or more in gold.
Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration confirmed on Monday that its 2008 discovery was the legendary British man-of-war – Victory, the fifth and penultimate royal navy ship to bear the name of Admiral Lord Nelson’s iconic flagship built three decades later.
HMS Victory, the last navy warship to be lost at sea with a complete complement of bronze guns, was believed to have travelled via Lisbon – then bullion capital of Europe and the Mediterranean world – with a commercial cargo of gold, weighing approximately four tonnes and thought likely to equate to 100,000 gold coins.
Jason Williams, of JMW Productions which filmed the discovery for the Discovery Channel, said: “Reports from the time say the ship was carrying four tonnes of gold, around £400,000 sterling, which it picked up from Lisbon on its way to Gibraltar.
“Today this has a bullion value of £125 million, but that’s just its raw weight. That means it is worth about a billion dollars.”
According to one report, federal court records filed by Odyssey seeking exclusive salvage rights placed the discovery site outside British territorial waters, fuelling some speculation that the find could trigger a row with the British government.
However, Grey Stemm, chief executive of Odyssey, while confirming he expected to be rewarded for the find, said the ministry of defence had given his company permission to go back to the wreck in an effort to find the lost treasure. “The money is not as important as the cultural and historical significance of the discovery,” he said.
“It is a monumental event, not only for Odyssey but for the world. It is probably the most significant shipwreck find to date.” Odyssey says it has been co-operating closely with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on the project and that all activities at the site have been conducted “in accordance with protocols agreed with the MoD and royal navy officials”.
Odyssey discovered the site nearly 100km from where the ship was believed to have been wrecked on a reef near the Channel Islands, the recovery of two bronze cannon – one bearing the coat of arms of King George 1 – confirming its identity.
Mr Stemm said the discovery in deep water “far from where history says” also served to exonerate Adm Sir John Balchin and his officers from the accusation of having let the ship run aground on the Casquets, a group of rocks northwest of Alderney, due to faulty navigation.
Sir John, who had served the royal navy for nearly 60 years with distinction, had retired and was called abruptly back into service to rescue a Mediterranean convoy blockaded down the River Tagus at Lisbon. His descendent, Sir Robert Balchin, told the BBC: “A piece of my family history and of national history has come alive. As a family we have always been proud of Sir John but this confirms what a fantastic admiral he was.” When launched, Sir John’s Victory – a British first-rate man-of-war constructed in Portsmouth dockyard between 1726 and 1737 – was considered the mightiest and technically most advanced vessel of her age.
Odyssey Marine Exploration’s find was filmed for the Discovery Channel. Treasure Quest: Victory Special will be shown on February 8th at 9pm.