September 14th 2024.
It's a story that has captured the imaginations of treasure hunters for centuries - the elusive Merchant Royal, also known as the 'El Dorado of the Seas'. It's been missing for 400 years, lost somewhere off the coast of Cornwall, and could hold secrets worth up to £4 billion in gold and other precious metals. Many have tried and failed to find this legendary ship, but now a UK company believes they have the technology and skills to finally uncover its whereabouts.
Nigel Hodge, a former commercial fisherman and diver, leads a team of 11 at Multibeam Services, a company that specializes in locating lost wrecks. They plan to spend the entire year searching a 200 square mile area in the English Channel, using state-of-the-art equipment like unmanned underwater vessels and advanced sonar technology. And while the potential riches are certainly alluring, Nigel insists that it's not about the money. For him, it's about finding answers and preserving historical artifacts.
The search won't be easy, as the area where the Merchant Royal sank is notoriously dangerous. Nigel explains, "There's thousands of shipwrecks down there and the Merchant Royal is just one of them. So we've got to literally pick through a lot of wrecks as we're doing them and then identify them. It's not straightforward. If it was straightforward, it would have been done."
But Nigel and his team are determined, drawing on their local knowledge and expertise to give them an advantage over previous attempts. The Merchant Royal, en route to Dartmouth in 1641, was carrying a valuable cargo of Mexican silver, pieces of eight, and jewels from the New World. Unfortunately, it never made it to its destination, sinking along with 18 crew members. The loss was so significant that it halted proceedings in the House of Commons and was mourned by King Charles I as the "greatest loss ever sustained in one ship."
Despite its tragic end, the mystery of the Merchant Royal continues to intrigue and inspire. In 2019, the search gained renewed interest when an anchor thought to belong to the ship was hauled up by a fishing boat. But even if the wreck is found, it may not be as visible as one would expect. Ships from that era were made of wood, which has long since rotted away. All that may remain are metal parts like cannons and the anchor, which may have already been claimed by someone else.
Multibeam Services has a track record of finding lost wrecks, including a sunken pirate ship loaded with treasure just last year. Nigel and his team's efforts to locate the Merchant Royal will be documented by former special forces soldier and commando Jason Fox, with a documentary set to air in the near future. Nigel remains realistic about the outcome, saying, "Some will say it's a needle in a haystack. I wouldn't say it's quite that, but it is a large area and we've got the elements to deal with. We need to wait for certain conditions to be able to use the equipment."
But if the Merchant Royal is indeed found, it won't be a story of overnight riches for Nigel and his team. With strict laws in place on who owns any discovered treasure, they won't be buying Lamborghinis anytime soon. However, a generous finders' fee could be in store for them if the estimated £4 billion worth of treasure is indeed found. Only time will tell if the Merchant Royal will finally reveal its secrets after 400 years of being lost at sea.
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