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| Author | Keith Jessop, Neil Hanson |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Wiley |
Publication date | February 28, 2002 |
| Pages | 432 |
| ISBN | 9780471045465 |
Goldfinder is a 2001autobiography of Britishdiver andtreasure hunterKeith Jessop. It tells the story of Jessop's life and salvaging such underwater treasures asHMS Edinburgh.[1]
One day in April 1981 Jessop'ssurvey shipDammtor began searching for the wreck ofHMS Edinburgh in theBarents Sea in theArctic Ocean of the coast of Russia. The ship had been sunk in battle in 1942 duringWorld War II while carrying payment formilitary equipment fromMurmansk in Russia to Scotland. His company, Jessop Marine, won the contract for the salvage rights to the wreck ofEdinburgh because his methods, involving complex cutting machinery and divers, were deemed more appropriate for awar 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 Russiangold bullion (431 bars) from the wreck out of 465.
