THE US marine exploration company which has located a British wartime shipwreck with £150 million worth of silver in the Atlantic has also been surveying southwest Irish waters where there are a number of "commodity" wrecks.
The Naval Service has confirmed that it notified the company's research ship Odyssey Explorersome weeks ago that it should notify the Irish authorities of its activities.
It said the Naval Service came across the vessel surveying some 25 miles west of the Blasket islands, in Co Kerry on August 2nd.
Under international law, a ship undertaking scientific research should inform the relevant state, and should be licensed to tow a sidescan sonar in territorial waters.
Odyssey Marine Exploration told The Irish Timesyesterday that it has been working off the Irish coast, but outside territorial waters. It would not divulge details of the work.
It said the Irish project was separate to that involving the successful location last week of the SS Gairsoppawith 200 tonnes of silver on board - said to be in 4,700 metres of water some 300 miles off the Irish coast.
The SS Gairsoppawas a British-registered cargo steamer enlisted by the British ministry of war during the second World War. It was torpedoed by a German U-boat in February 1941.
It was carrying nearly 7,000 tonnes of cargo, including pig iron, tea and a large quantity of silver, when it left Calcutta for Liverpool.
It sailed in convoy, until it was forced to reduce speed due to high winds and swell. It was running low on coal when it decided on February 14th, 1941, to steam independently to the nearest port, Galway. It never made it, as three days later German U-boat commander Ernst Mengersen torpedoed the ship. The submarine then surfaced and opened fire on the steamer's lifeboats as they were being lowered.
Some eight Europeans and 27 Asians survived in one of the lifeboats, but some died of exposure and seven died within sight of England's southwest coast when the lifeboat overturned close to shore.
The sole survivor, second officer RH Ayres was picked up in the lifeboat and later awarded an MBE. The cargo ship was found last week sitting upright in some 4,700 metres of water, according to Irish senior project manager with Odyssey, Andrew Craig.
The company had secured a salvage contract in advance with the British government, under which it would retain 80 per cent of the cargo, with the balance going to the British treasury if located.
"We had looked for it before, and this time we spent a month on a Russian survey ship using a sidescan sonar," Mr Craig, originally from Co Kildare, said.
"The wreck had certain identifying features, and when we found positive indications, we mobilised the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on the Odyssey Explorer," he said.
The ship is in deeper waters than the Titanic, he added. The company hopes to begin recovering the bullion during a three-month salvage next summer. If successful, it will be "the largest known precious metal cargo ever recovered from the sea", the company said.
A number of vessels, including so-called "commodity ships" were sunk in the busy wartime shipping lane off the southwest Irish coast. As these ships are less than 100 years old, they are not protected under the 1987 National Monuments Act.
The Department of Heritage confirmed the Odyssey Explorerhad recently been working a sea corridor near Tearaght Island, the most westerly of the Blaskets.
