Treasure hunters strike gold with shipwreck
Daily Telegraph
Published: July 30, 2009, 22:31
Berlin: The wreck of a 19th- century English ship loaded with gold and silver worth millions of pounds has been found by German adventurers in seas off Indonesia.
More than 1.5 tonnes of silver coins, gold jewellery, crystal, Chinese porcelain, cannon, muskets and 400 bottles of wine were recovered by the treasure hunters from the Forbes, a ship that ran aground between Borneo and Sumatra in 1806.
The team believes the value of the find to be at least £6 million (Dh36.3 million). Martin Wenzel, one of the treasure hunters, said that the discovery had come like "a shot of adrenalin in the blood."
"I found the first things during a survey and everything just looked encrusted but when I saw there was treasure like this I just couldn't believe my eyes," Wenzel said.
The Forbes was a prolific trading and buccaneering ship that had King George III's approval to attack and plunder foreign vessels.
It raided at least one Chinese ship, as there was Ming dynasty porcelain on board, Wenzel said.
The Forbes carried opium and iron from Calcutta [now Kolkata] to the Far East and was on its way home with a "considerable amount" of loot and cargo.
Shortly after it raided a Dutch brig, both ships were driven on to a reef at five knots, the register writes.
The crew survived in three lifeboats. Then they were picked up by another English ship.
Frazer Sinclair, captain of the Forbes, went on to skipper other ships and was decorated by George III for his bold raids on foreign vessels.
Half the value of the treasure must be given to the Indonesian government under the salvage licence agreement, but the German team plans to sell its share at auction and use the money to finance future quests.
The adventurers are already examining another wreck that they believe may hold two tonnes of gold.
"This is an exciting hobby, but an expensive one," Wenzel said. "This is the biggest thing we've found." The wreck of the Forbes lay off Belitung Island, between Malaysian Borneo and Indonesian Sumatra.
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Daily Telegraph
Published: July 30, 2009, 22:31
Berlin: The wreck of a 19th- century English ship loaded with gold and silver worth millions of pounds has been found by German adventurers in seas off Indonesia.
More than 1.5 tonnes of silver coins, gold jewellery, crystal, Chinese porcelain, cannon, muskets and 400 bottles of wine were recovered by the treasure hunters from the Forbes, a ship that ran aground between Borneo and Sumatra in 1806.
The team believes the value of the find to be at least £6 million (Dh36.3 million). Martin Wenzel, one of the treasure hunters, said that the discovery had come like "a shot of adrenalin in the blood."
"I found the first things during a survey and everything just looked encrusted but when I saw there was treasure like this I just couldn't believe my eyes," Wenzel said.
The Forbes was a prolific trading and buccaneering ship that had King George III's approval to attack and plunder foreign vessels.
It raided at least one Chinese ship, as there was Ming dynasty porcelain on board, Wenzel said.
The Forbes carried opium and iron from Calcutta [now Kolkata] to the Far East and was on its way home with a "considerable amount" of loot and cargo.
Shortly after it raided a Dutch brig, both ships were driven on to a reef at five knots, the register writes.
The crew survived in three lifeboats. Then they were picked up by another English ship.
Frazer Sinclair, captain of the Forbes, went on to skipper other ships and was decorated by George III for his bold raids on foreign vessels.
Half the value of the treasure must be given to the Indonesian government under the salvage licence agreement, but the German team plans to sell its share at auction and use the money to finance future quests.
The adventurers are already examining another wreck that they believe may hold two tonnes of gold.
"This is an exciting hobby, but an expensive one," Wenzel said. "This is the biggest thing we've found." The wreck of the Forbes lay off Belitung Island, between Malaysian Borneo and Indonesian Sumatra.
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