Keith Jessop (10 May 1933 – 22 May 2010) was a British salvagediver andmarinetreasure hunter.[1]
Born inKeighley,West Riding of Yorkshire, as the son of aYorkshire mill-worker. Jessop learned todeep-dive.[2]
With advances in technology, which allowedlonger and deeper dives than ever could be imagined before, his dream of becoming a deep-sea salvager became a reality. Jessop became professionally trained in deep-sea diving and over several decades Jessop had unearthed hundreds of wrecks around the world, making several million pounds from his discoveries.
In April 1981 Jessop's chartered survey shipDammtor began searching for the wreck of the cruiserHMSEdinburgh in theBarents Sea in theArctic Ocean of the coast ofRussia. The ship had been sunk in battle in 1942 during theSecond World War while carrying payment for military equipment fromMurmansk in Russia toScotland. His company, Jessop Marine, won the contract for the salvage rights to the wreck ofEdinburgh because his methods, involving 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 wrecks location 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, theDammtor took detailed film of theEdinburgh, which allowed Jessop and his divers to plan the salvage operation.
Later that year, on 30 August, the dive-support vesselStephaniturm had arrived at the site, and salvage operations began. By mid-September of that year Jessop's team was able to salvage from the wreck over $100,000,000 in Russiangold bullion—431 bars out of 465.
His autobiographyGoldfinder written in 2001 tells the story of Jessop's life and the salvage of such underwater treasures as HMSEdinburgh.
Jessop's sonGraham was also a successful deep-sea salvage diver.
Jessop died inFrance on 22 May 2010, aged 77.[3]
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