"I'm curious about the salvage of the Odyssey's first shipwreck, can Mr. Greg tell me about it?"

"Hahaha, it's amazing to talk about that experience!" Greg was asked what he was most proud of, and excitedly: "The story of the USS Republic is this, when the American Civil War had just ended, and the USS Republic, loaded with goods and coins, set off from New York to support the post-war reconstruction of New Orleans. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"Five days after sailing out of New York, the 210-foot-long steam-age ship sank to the icy ocean floor in a rare hurricane. Reports at the time said that the goods on the Republic exceeded $400,000 in gold and silver coins. More than 130 years later, they are worth far more than they were back then, with a $10 gold coin having a market price ranging from $3,000 to $500,000. ”

"But it's very difficult to pinpoint the wreck, and a ship like the Republic, which was devastated by the wind and waves, broke up in the sinking process and hit the bottom of the ocean at 100 miles per hour, leaving it in a mess and scattered all over the seabed."

Greg had a headache: "Since we learned its story in 1992, the two of us have been working with it, carefully analyzing its shipwreck from the literature, and using computers to simulate the line and speed of the ship back then. Eventually, the wreck was locked within 1,500 miles, and it would have been a huge task just to comb through such a large area of the ocean floor with sonar. ”

At this time, Wu Tianyuan sighed that his ability was powerful, and it was accurate to find it casually.

"In 2003, Odyssey finally managed to find the Republic 100 miles off the coast of Georgia, and the salvaged gold and silver coins sold for $75 million, while our initial investment was only $2 million. Until now, the two of us have each put a salvaged gold coin in our wallets as a souvenir, which is not too expensive, just $10,000 and kept as a permanent memorial. ”

Greg looked at Wu Tianyuan and said enviously: "I have long heard that Mr. Wu is a miracle worker, and he has a natural intuition about treasures, and the treasures you have found have shocked us." Hey, it's really hard for us ordinary people to find a clue! ”

"In order to increase the likelihood of finding a valuable shipwreck, Odyssey has taken a number of approaches, starting with a careful combing of the American and other countries' maritime records. Libraries in Europe have also hired special personnel to study this material. ”

A group of professional "chatters" have even been recruited on the Mediterranean coast, whose job is to chat with fishermen on the seashore, especially those who have caught something unusual in their nets. The company also set up a sky-high reward for the fishermen, and once the clues provided by the fishermen actually found the shipwreck, Odyssey would reward him with $500,000. ”

"A few years ago, a historian discovered such a record while sorting through the archives of French spies. In 1694, a British warship sank in the western Mediterranean, the name of the Sussex, which is said to have carried 9 tons of gold, which was used by the British to buy the loyalty of the Duke of Savoy in the war against King Louis XIV of France. ”

"Historians told us the news, and Odyssey told the British government that the two companies had reached an agreement shortly thereafter, that Odyssey would be responsible for the search and salvage of the wreck, and that if the Sussex's belongings were found, Odyssey would split the proceeds equally with the British government."

"After years of research and exploration, we believe that the sunken site of the Sussex has been found, but we have not been able to salvage it. Because the wreck is located in the waters under the jurisdiction of Spain's Andalusia region, they have not allowed Odyssey to carry out salvage work in order to protect their country's underwater cultural heritage. ”

"It was not until March of this year that the Spanish government and the British government reached an agreement, according to the agreement, the two countries will jointly search for the cargo on board the British shipwreck Royal Navy Sussex, Spain will send a team of archaeologists to participate in the underwater archaeology and salvage work, if the wreck is confirmed to be Sussex, it will recognize the hull and the cargo on board as British property in accordance with international law."

Lao Qiao also mentioned this rumor to Wu Tianyuan, according to relevant historical records, the Sussex was loaded with 1 million pounds of gold coins when it sank that year. Preliminary estimates suggest that the current value of the coins is at least $1 billion, and possibly even $4 billion.

"The wreckage of the Sussex is buried at a depth of half a mile at the bottom of the sea, a depth that is difficult to reach for seafloor salvage. Historically, due to technical constraints, it has not been possible to find and salvage shipwrecks. There are no technical barriers anymore. This is a key reason why the Sussex may see the light of day. ”

"The company's plans for a full-scale salvage of the Sussex have been finalized, and another exploration team will be sent this spring, and according to analysis, the location of the coin cache should be at the bottom of the wreck. The next step is to dive to the bottom of the ocean several times in an effort to dig out the debris buried deep under the seabed and analyze it in order to further determine whether it is Sussex. ”

"Our goal is not just to excavate money, but also to explore from an archaeological point of view. If it is confirmed that the wreck is the Sussex, then the history of Europe at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries will be fleshed out. ”

"Even the British government is taking this salvage very seriously at the moment, with the Ministry of Defence issuing a statement saying that the wreckage led them to believe that it was from a British shipwreck, and that it was very likely to be the wreck of the Sussex sent by the royal family."

Greg said meaningfully and disdainfully: "The official excuse is always so high-sounding, if it is an empty ship with no treasure? Can the British Empire take it so seriously? ”

"We and the British government want to have this treasure for themselves, and since the ship is not sunk in British waters, the treasure should belong to the company that salvaged it. The British side made it clear that the salvage company had proved that it was the British warship Sussex, and that all the property on board should belong to the British crown. Public opinion believes that this is the intention of the statement of the British Ministry of Defense. ”

"There is currently no uniform distribution regulation for the international undersea archaeological community, and in the past, an unwritten way to deal with such disputes was that whoever found it owned it if it was on the high seas. In the maritime area of a country, it is handled on a case-by-case basis. In the past, there have been cases where the treasure seeker has monopolized the treasure and the country of origin has obtained all the treasure. ”

"As a compromise, our company proposed to the British government that we keep most of the coins and other treasures on board, but hand over valuable artifacts to the British. But the insatiable British objected to this, shamelessly proposing that the treasure should first belong to the British crown. However, the British will pay the Odyssey for the cost of the exploration and salvage of the Sussex. ”

Greg was indignant: "You know, we have invested $3 million in exploration costs, and we hope that it is far from $3 million, and the British side must pay the risk fee of the exploration and the reward for the benefits of successful salvage." At present, it is not 100% certain that the ship is the Sussex, which has caused controversy, and it is estimated that there will inevitably be a dispute over money after it is out of the water. (To be continued.) )