Shipwreck with billions in gold found?

A South Korean salvage team has recovered a Russian shipwreck carrying 200 tonnes of Gold bars and Gold Coins found. It would be the Dmitrii Donskoi, a fighter that was sunk during the Russo-Japanese War of (1904-1905) near the South Korean island of Ulleungdo.

The British Newspaper Daily Telegraph writes that a team consisting of South Korean, British and Canadian experts found the shipwreck last Sunday. The ship was at a depth of less than 500 meters and could be reached by two manned submarines. This also made it possible to make video recordings of the Dmitrii Donskoi.

Ship full of gold bars and gold coins

The badly battered ship is believed to have carried a cargo of 5,500 chests of gold bars and gold coins when it was sunk in 1905. The salvage team hopes to be able to recover the shipwreck in October or November. Then it should become clear whether there is indeed that much value on board.

The value of the cargo is estimated at $130 billion. Half of the find will be handed over to the government of Russia, while ten percent of the proceeds will be used for tourism investments on the island of Ulleungdo. For example, there are already plans to build a museum dedicated to this warship.

Many ships not yet discovered

Throughout history, there have been a lot of ships sunk, often with valuable cargo on board. Especially in the days when precious metals such as gold and silver were still used as a means of payment, they were often taken on board ships. Gold, silver and platinum were also often captured on other continents.

Perhaps the most famous example is the time of Spanish rule in South America, when ships full of gold and silver returned to Europe. During these transports, ships have also sunk with a valuable cargo of precious metals on board. Many of these treasures have not yet been found and are still somewhere at the bottom of the ocean.

The following images come from CNBC. More images can be found on the website of The Sun.

This contribution was made from Geotrendlines

Editor's Note (07/28/2018): This week followed a press conference about the discovery of this ship, in which it became clear that there was a misunderstanding had arisen in their previous communication. No one has been able to confirm that the ship actually had gold on board.