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WET & HOT NEWS ! > Polar Mist
Divers recover treasure from Argentina shipwreck
The 03 Aug. 2009 at 06:18Treasure Hunting / recovery
By Debora Rey
Divers have concluded a mission to retrieve 9.5 tons of unrefined gold and silver worth nearly $22 million from a shipwreck off southern Argentina.
A border police officer on duty in the city of Rio Gallegos confirmed to The Associated Press that the effort to recover the Polar Mist's valuable cargo ended Sunday.
The refitted Chilean fishing trawler sank Jan. 18, two days after its eight-person crew sent out a distress call during a violent storm. They were rescued by helicopter, but the vessel went down while being towed toward shore near the Straits of Magellan.
The boat sank 25 miles (40 kilometers) from land and came to rest in waters about 260 feet (80 meters) deep.
The border police officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted by name. His agency is involved in the recovery effort, though he was unable to say how much of the treasure was recovered.
Jorge Palmes — president of Cerro Vanguardia SA, the Argentine owner of the mine where the gold was extracted — said seven bars of metal remained on the ocean floor.Lloyd's finds precious cargo located on sunken ship
The 26 Jun. 2009 at 05:20Treasure Hunting / recovery
By Abigail Wilkinson - The Santiago Times
More than nine and one half tons of gold and silver that were lost aboard the Chilean trawler "Polar Mist" when it sank Strait of Magellan have been located in the sunken ship’s cargo hold.
The discovery puts to rest speculation that the US$16.5 million cargo was not aboard the boat (ST April 23) and that the cargo had been “invented” as part of an insurance-scam attempt. The Polar Mist regularly carried similar cargo through the Strait of Magellan to Punta Arenas (Region XII) en route to Swiss refineries.
The cargo was finally pinpointed by a submarine robot, following days of delay due to adverse weather conditions. The remote-controlled robot managed to enter the hold and make video recordings of the gold and silver. No one knows what kind of technology the insurer-funded rescue team will use to recover the precious metals.
Owners Cerro Vanguardia and Triton (mining companies extracting gold and silver in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina) had demanded that the London insurers Lloyd’s pay for the sunken ship’s lost treasure. But Lloyd’s hired the Dutch company Mammoet to attempt a rescue.
The sunken ship’s crew abandoned their boat when it ran into a fierce storm upon entering the Magellan Strait on January 15. The men were later rescued by a helicopter belonging to the Argentine coastal authorities. The Polar Mist was later being towed to shore when it sank in mysterious circumstances on January 18. The vessel now lies in 80 meters of water on a sea shelf some 40 kms to the east of Cabo Vírgenes.
Rumors that the cargo had been located began circulating last Monday afternoon and the find was confirmed by the rescuers that evening with the statement: “Phases one and two of the rescue mission have been successfully completed.”
The team aims to recover the cargo during July without re-floating the vessel.Argentine golden shipwreck found
The 20 Jun. 2009 at 14:01Treasure Hunting / recovery
By Candace Piette - BBC News
A vessel which sank carrying $18m (£11m) in gold and silver ingots has been found in the Magellan Straits off the coast of Argentina.
The cargo belonged to Argentine mining companies Cerro Vanguardia and Minera Triton and was on its way from mines in southern Argentina to Europe. The boat sank in heavy seas in mysterious circumstances in January.
Although the vessel has been found, it is unclear if the nine and a half tons of cargo remain on board.
The Chilean fishing boat, the Polar Mist, set sail from Santa Cruz in southern Argentina for the port of Punta Arenas in Chile.
The bullion was heading first to Santiago in Chile, and then on to Switzerland for sale. But a day after setting sail, the crew abandoned ship in a heavy storm.Chilean "treasure boat" to be rescued
The 14 Apr. 2009 at 12:44Maritime NewsBy Chris Noyce
The recovery of a Chilean fishing boat that sank in the Straits of Magellan in January with an alleged cargo of US$22 million (9.5 tons) in gold and silver begins this month following accusations that the boat’s demise may be part of a fraudulent insurance claim.
The rescue will be carried out by four rescue teams from Dutch heavy lifting and transport experts Mammoet, the same company that rescued the remains of the Russian nuclear submarine “Kursk” from the bottom of frozen Barents Sea in 2001. The rescue teams will dive 75 meters under the sea to examine the boat and verify its contents. The operation will most likely be taken next week.
On Jan. 16 the Polar Mist, a Chilean fishing boat, sunk while traversing the Straits of Magellan, a sea route located south of mainland Chile and just north of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina and Chile. The Straits are renowned for their inhospitable climate and tricky navigability.
The eight-member crew radioed for help before putting on life jackets and jumping into the icy water, abandoning the still floating boat. In a risky operation, an Argentine rescue helicopter brought the crew to safety. Two days later a Chilean tugboat tried to bring the abandoned boat to dry land, but the Polar Mist unexpectedly sank some 40 kilometers from the Argentine coast.
The Polar Mist’s destination was Punta Arenas (Region XII), from which the cargo, some 8,370 kilos of unrefined gold and 930 kilos of silver, would be transported by plane to Switzerland for refining.
Read more...Mystery surrounds sinking of treasure ship off Argentina
The 09 Apr. 2009 at 06:29Treasure Hunting / recoveryFrom the Canadian Press
The storm set in suddenly, darkening the midmorning sky. Winds reached 100 kilometres an hour. Waves towered over the refitted fishing trawler, with swells as high as eight metres.
The eight people aboard the Polar Mist radioed for help, then donned survival wet suits and flung themselves into the frigid waters. In a daring operation, rescuers dangling from a helicopter harnessed the survivors and pulled them to safety.
Two days later, a Chilean tugboat caught up with the abandoned trawler. But as it was being tugged to dry land, the Polar Mist unexpectedly sank 40 kilometres off the Argentine coast, near the mouth of the Straits of Magellan, on Jan. 18.
The owners of its cargo say nearly $22 million US in unrefined gold and silver went down with it, and they're asking insurer Lloyd's of London to foot the bill for the costly recovery operation.
But Argentine news media and maritime experts are asking whether the precious metals were aboard at all. They ask why the crew members ditched the craft when it would have been safer to stay aboard, why they left the engine on full so the ship was left spinning in circles, and why a trawler built in 1979 was being used to transport gold and silver in the first place.Mystery as £14m treasure ship disappears
The 23 Feb. 2009 at 13:15Maritime NewsBy Oliver Balch
Authorities have begun an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a treasure-laden ship after it ran into difficulties in the Magellan straits off the southern coast of Argentina
The ship, registered in Chile, was carrying more than nine tonnes of gold and silver worth at least £14m when it hit a fierce storm in the channel. Waves of up to 10 metres forced the crew to evacuate.
The seven-man crew of the Polar Mist left the engines running to avoid fuel pollution after they abandoned ship. A few hours later, a coastguard helicopter spotted a second boat approaching the distressed vessel. The Beagle, which is also registered in Chile, began to tug the 23 metre Polar Mist in the direction of the Argentine port of Río Gallegos. Coastguard authorities presumed its intentions were to rescue the ship.
About 25 miles off shore, during the night, the troubled Mist Polar reportedly began listing from side to side. According to the tug's captain, it then sank beneath the waves, and the bullion is now lying on the seabed, 80 metres below the surface.
The cargo was on a scheduled journey from two mines in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz to the Chilean port of Punta Arenas. The gold and silver was destined for a refinery in Switzerland.
The captains of the two clippers are said to be helping officials with their investigation. In the meantime, all other ships have been banned from entering the area where the Polar Mist allegedly went under. Efforts are due to get under way shortly to salvage the cargo.
"The case remains open," said Gerardo Caamaño, the judge overseeing the investigation.