Goldfinder is a 2001
autobiography of British
diver and
treasure hunterKeith Jessop. It tells the story of Jessop's life and salvaging such underwater treasures as
HMS Edinburgh, one of the greatest deep sea salvage operations and most financially rewarding in history.[1]
One day in April 1981 Jessop's
survey shipDammtor began searching for the wreck of
HMS Edinburgh in the
Barents Sea in the
Arctic Ocean of the coast of Russia. The ship had been sunk in battle in 1942 during
World War II while carrying payment for
military equipment from
Murmansk in Russia to Scotland. His company, called Jessop Marine, won the contract for the salvage rights to the wreck of Edinburgh because his methods, involving complex cutting machinery and divers, were deemed more appropriate for a
war grave, compared to the explosives-oriented methods of other companies.
In late April 1981, the survey ship discovered the ship's final resting place at an approximate position of 72.00°N, 35.00°E, at a depth of 245 metres (804 ft) within ten days of the start of the operation. Using specialist camera equipment, Dammtor took detailed film of the wreck, which allowed Jessop and his divers to carefully plan the salvage operation.
Later that year, on 30 August, the dive-support vessel Stephaniturm journeyed to the site, and salvage operations began in earnest. Leading the operation undersea, by mid-September of that year Jessop was able to salvage over $100,000,000 in Russian
gold bullion (431 bars) from the wreck out of 465 over several days making him the greatest underwater treasurer in history.
Goldfinder is a 2001
autobiography of British
diver and
treasure hunterKeith Jessop. It tells the story of Jessop's life and salvaging such underwater treasures as
HMS Edinburgh, one of the greatest deep sea salvage operations and most financially rewarding in history.[1]
One day in April 1981 Jessop's
survey shipDammtor began searching for the wreck of
HMS Edinburgh in the
Barents Sea in the
Arctic Ocean of the coast of Russia. The ship had been sunk in battle in 1942 during
World War II while carrying payment for
military equipment from
Murmansk in Russia to Scotland. His company, called Jessop Marine, won the contract for the salvage rights to the wreck of Edinburgh because his methods, involving complex cutting machinery and divers, were deemed more appropriate for a
war grave, compared to the explosives-oriented methods of other companies.
In late April 1981, the survey ship discovered the ship's final resting place at an approximate position of 72.00°N, 35.00°E, at a depth of 245 metres (804 ft) within ten days of the start of the operation. Using specialist camera equipment, Dammtor took detailed film of the wreck, which allowed Jessop and his divers to carefully plan the salvage operation.
Later that year, on 30 August, the dive-support vessel Stephaniturm journeyed to the site, and salvage operations began in earnest. Leading the operation undersea, by mid-September of that year Jessop was able to salvage over $100,000,000 in Russian
gold bullion (431 bars) from the wreck out of 465 over several days making him the greatest underwater treasurer in history.