Once the American oceanographers Rechtinzer and Terry thought about the question: how many dead ships are at the bottom of the oceans?
They calculated that in the 20th century about 400 ships per year die annually, in the 19th century this figure was much higher, and in total, according to scientists, at least a million ships have been wrecked in the history of mankind. One lost ship falls on 40 square kilometers of seas and oceans.
According to the British Admiralty, from the beginning of the 16th century to the present day, an eighth of all gold and silver mined on our planet was under water. True, the famous underwater explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau was skeptical about such numbers. In his opinion, these rumors were spread by scammers who sought to get rich by selling "old" maps with the coordinates of underwater treasures.
However, it is impossible to deny the fact that there are untold treasures at the bottom, even if the data on them are significantly overestimated. Only the total mass of gold is estimated at 10-13 thousand tons.
Moreover, people began hunting for the sunken wealth several centuries ago.
In the 18th century, the Englishman John Detbridge invented the "diving machine" with which he began to search for jewelry in the depths of the sea. It was a wooden barrel in which a person was lowered to the bottom. The air supply in it was enough for several hours. Through the holes covered with pigskin, the diver could reach out his arms.
Over the years, the equipment of seekers of underwater riches has improved, and the number of “spearfishing” lovers has also grown. Now in the USA alone, about 3 million people are passionate about this occupation. A huge number of printed materials are published with a description of the treasures and their coordinates. Here are just a few examples of successful hunting:
In 1999, the ship "Frau Marta" was discovered off the coast of Finland, which sank in 1771. The right to treasure is shared by several countries at once, and in the meantime, illegal amateurs get from the bottom of the art objects that Catherine II bought for the Hermitage.
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In 1985, treasure hunter Mel Fisher discovered the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora, which sank in 1622, off the coast of Florida. The total value of the valuables raised from the bottom was $ 450 million.
The pirate ship "Vaida" was found in 1982 by American Barry Clifford. 400 million dollars - this is the estimate of the pirate submarine treasure.
Greg Stemm and John Morris spent 12 years searching for the steamship Republic, which sank in a storm in October 1865 in the Atlantic Ocean, 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. The ship lay at a depth of about 500 meters, and there were gold coins on board. Their total cost is about $ 180 million.