Merchant Royal wreck yields US$500 fortune

by This is London & other sources on 20 May 2007 Treasure hunters have recovered gold and silver worth an estimated US$500 million from a shipwreck off Cornwall, UK.

Salvage companies have spent years looking for the wreck of the Merchant Royal, known as the 'Eldorado of the seas', which sank in bad weather near the Isles of Scilly in 1641.

Florida based Odyssey Marine Exploration three salvage ships have been working to find the wreck site for two years, yet it was only last Wednesday that a US federal judge in Tampa granted the firm exclusive salvage rights.

Odyssey has refused to confirm the source of the treasure was the Merchant Royal, they've been using a code name 'Black Swan' for their lucrative treasure wreck. However they did say ‘The artifacts recovered from the site include over 500,000 silver coins weighing more than 17 tons, hundreds of gold coins, worked gold, and other artifacts.

All recovered items have been legally imported into the United States and placed in a secure, undisclosed location where they are undergoing conservation and documentation.

‘They were recovered in conformity with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country. The Company does not believe that the recovery is subject to sovereign immunity by any nation pursuant to the Law of the Sea Convention. '

Under salvage law, Odyssey could get up to 90 per cent of the haul's value, although this may depend on whether other claimants come forward. With the treasure now on American soil, it is highly unlikely that Britain will seek a share of it. But experts believe that, as the cargo originally belonged to Spain, its government will have a better case.

However, there may be individual claimants to deal with. The personal fortune of the Merchant Royal's captain, John Limbrey, which he accrued through years of trading in the Caribbean, was believed lost when the ship sank in bad weather. At least one of his descendants is already understood to be making enquiries about a possible claim.

Odyssey, which used remote-control submarines - known as remote operation vehicles (ROVs) - to dive on the wreck, has remained silent about exactly where the treasure was found, or indeed which ship it came from.

Shipping records show a period of intense activity at the end of last summer, when all three Odyssey ships - Odyssey Explorer, Ocean Alert and LEspoir - were regular visitors to Falmouth docks.

Pilot Captain David Barnicoat was employed by all three ships on several occasions during 2005 and 2006, steering them in and out of Falmouth Bay. He said: 'You couldn't sound the crew out. They were tight-lipped about everything.

'Other vessels would spot them off the Isles of Scilly flying 'keep clear' signals, but they were working a huge area and you couldn't begin to guess the wreck location.

Wreck expert Richard Larn, whose book Shipwrecks of the British Isles is the definitive Lloyds of London reference manual reported that he discussed the Merchant Royal with Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm two years ago.

Mr Larn said: 'He admitted that he was looking for the Merchant Royal but wouldn't say where he thought she was.

'Basically, his ships have been mowing up and down the ocean around the Isles of Scilly for two years.

'They would have found about 1,000 targets - including fishing vessels and wartime wrecks - and they must have checked out each one. This would have cost £50,000 per day. You are talking huge sums of money and you can see why they play their cards so close to their chest.'

A spokesman for the Receiver of Wreck, part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: 'We have not been informed of any large treasure hoard being landed in the UK.'

Although Odyssey Marine Exploration has insisted its loot was found in international water last night Kendall McDonald, a wreck expert, cast doubt on the claim.

He said: 'I expect it could have been found elsewhere. They were careful to say she was 40 miles off Land's End, but she was meant to be about 25 miles out.

'There's a possibility it could be closer in than that but they want to put the possibility of it being in British waters out of reach.'

Each coin could bring between a few hundred and several thousand dollars, according to an expert who evaluated some of them at the company's request.

The total could reach $500 million dollars, which would make it one of the most valuable sunken treasures ever discovered

'Our research suggests that there were a number of Colonial period shipwrecks that were lost in the area where this site is located, so we are being very cautious about speculating as to the possible identity of the shipwreck', said John Morris, Odyssey Co-founder and CEO.

'Nevertheless, we have treated this site with kid gloves and the archaeological work done by our team out there is unsurpassed. We are thoroughly documenting and recording the site, which we believe will have immense historical significance.'

'The remarkable condition of most of the first 6,000 silver coins conserved has been a pleasant surprise, and the gold coins are almost all dazzling mint state specimens.' said Greg Stemm, Odyssey's Co-founder. 'We are excited by the wide range of dates, origins and varieties of the coins, and we believe that the collecting community will be thrilled when they see the quality and diversity of the collection.'

The 700-ton Merchant Royal was built in Deptford, London, in 1627.

Owned by English merchants, she set sail from the Spanish colonies of San Domingo, in the West Indies, captained by John Limbrey.

In January 1637, armed with 32 bronze canons, she arrived successfully in Cadiz, southern Spain, where she rested until 1640.

But during that time she began to leak badly and underwent extensive repairs.
The following summer, a ship employed to transport Spain's colonial loot - silver coins, ingots and gold - caught fire.

The bullion had been put aside to pay for Spain's 30,000 strong army, which were stationed at the time in Flanders.

Captain Limbrey volunteered to take the gold to Antwerp, on his way back to London. The Merchant Royal set sail in late August 1641, trailed by her sister ship, the Dover Merchant. But during the journey she began to leak and rescuers were unable reach her in time.

Eighteen men drowned and 40 crew, including Capt Limbrey, had to be rescued by the Dover Merchant.

The loss of the treasure made headlines. Back in 1641, the ship’s hold was equivalent to one-third of the national exchequer. Samuel Pepys refers to the event in his diary and proceedings in the House of Commons were interrupted for the news to be announced.

Several salvage teams have sought to recover her treasure over the years but all have failed until now.

There was confusion as to where she had actually gone down, with conflicting eyewitness reports. Original papers relating to her final resting place state that witnesses on another ship calculated that it sank ten leagues (around 35 miles) from Land's End. But experts insist they would have been too far out to actually see land.