HMS Edinburgh (16) - The Cargo of Gold

The Cargo of Gold

On this voyage, Edinburgh carryied a 4.5-long-ton (4,570 kg) consignment of gold bullion, intended as partial payment for Allied supplies to the USSR. The 465 gold ingots, carried in 93 wooden boxes, were in the armoured bomb-rooms on the starboard side, near the first torpedo's impact point. At the time, the estimated worth of the bullion was about £1.5 million sterling.

In 1954, the British government offered the salvage rights to the Edinburgh to Risdon Beazley Ltd., a British salvage company. But the project was put on hold, due to strained political relations with the Soviet Union. In 1957, the wreck was designated as a war grave, which complicated any salvage attempts still further.

In the late 1970s, interest in the Edinburgh was reawakened, and the British government became increasingly anxious to recover the gold. This was not only because of its value, but also because there was growing fear that the wreck might be looted by unscrupulous salvagers, or salvaged by the Soviet Union, the coast of which was nearby.

In the early 1980s, seasoned diver Keith Jessop won the salvage rights to Edinburgh for his company Jessop Marine. Jessop's methods, using complex cutting machinery, were deemed more appropriate for a war grave than the explosives-oriented methods of other companies.

In April 1981, the survey ship Dammtor began searching for the wreck in the Barents Sea, on behalf of Jessop Marine. After only ten days, Dammtor discovered the wreck at approximately 72°N 35°E / 72°N 35°E / 72; 35, about 400 km NNE of the Soviet coast at the Kola Inlet. The depth was 245 metres (800 ft). Using specialized cameras, the Dammtor took detailed film of the wreck, which allowed Jessop and his divers to carefully plan the salvage operation. The survival of her sister ship HMS Belfast (C35) enabled the team to preview the layout of the lower decks.

Later that year, on 30 August, the dive-support vessel Stephaniturm journeyed to the site, and salvage operations began in earnest. Several divers were injured during the operation, but on 15 September 1981, a diver finally penetrated the bomb room and recovered a bar of gold. By 7 October, when bad weather finally forced the suspension of diving operations, 431 of 465 ingots had been recovered, now worth in excess of £43,000,000 sterling. A further 29 bars were recovered in a subsequent operation in 1986, bringing the total to 460, leaving five unaccounted for.