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The SS Gairsoppa was a 412 foot steel-hulled British cargo steamship that was enlisted in the service of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport and sunk by a German U-boat on February 17, 1941, approximately 300 miles southwest of Galway, Ireland. r n r n r nThe UK Ministry of War Transport paid an insurance loss of approximately £325,000 at the time for silver bars lost with the ship. In 2010, the United Kingdom (UK) Government Department for Transport awarded Odyssey, through a competitive bid, the exclusive salvage contract for this cargo from the SS Gairsoppa. Under the terms of the agreement, which follows standard commercial practices, Odyssey bears the risk of search and recovery and retains 80% of the net salved value of Gairsoppa silver cargo. Additional, self-insured government-owned silver may be aboard as well. Sources, including Lloyd’s Record of War Losses indicate a total cargo of silver worth £600,000 at the time, which would equate to approximately seven million total ounces of silver was on board. |
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