The British Admiralty Court has considered the case of 60 tons of silver raised from a sunken ship during the Second World War. Two rival firms were on the hunt for the treasure, according to The Times.
In 1942, the British liner Tilawa left Bombay with 732 passengers and a cargo of silver that was to be delivered to South Africa for the manufacture of coins. In 1,500 kilometers from the Seychelles, the ship was fired upon by a Japanese submarine. After being hit by two torpedoes, the liner sank.
Silver, which was estimated at 32 million pounds (3.1 billion rubles), was remembered only 70 years later. In 2012, 67-year-old racing driver Ross Hyett set out to find sunken treasures and founded Argentum Exploration. Two years later, he managed to find the place where Tilawa died.
In 2017, the Hyatt firm began the rise of silver. The operation lasted six months and was carried out in strict secrecy. When the ship that was working at the site of the shipwreck had to enter the Omani port, the raised silver was left in international waters in a basket hidden at the bottom. When transporting the precious metal to Great Britain, it was decided not to enter the Suez Canal, where the Egyptian authorities could seize the mining. Silver was transported by a roundabout route around the whole of Africa.
Hyatt did not know that, in addition to him, the American company Odyssey Marine Exploration was looking for silver from Tilawa. She is known for the fact that in 2007 raised 17 tons of gold and silver from the sunken Spanish galleon “Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes”. An international scandal followed, in which joined several countries claiming the treasure. The Spanish Civil Guard captured a treasure hunter ship, but it was too late: the company managed to take the booty to USA and refused to say where it was hidden.
In September 2016, representatives of the Odyssey Marine Exploration turned to the South African authorities and offered to find the lost British liner. They agreed to receive 85 percent of the silver from Tilawa, with the remainder going to South Africa.
When it turned out that they were outstripped, the South African authorities filed a lawsuit. They stated that the silver was intended for the South African Mint and should therefore be considered the property of the South African government.
On December 16, the British Admiralty Court ruled that Tilawa’s cargo was intended for commercial, not government purposes, and therefore South Africa’s claims are groundless. “The silver probably remained forgotten until 2016, when Odyssey informed the South African Republic of its existence,” the judge suggested Nigel Teare (Nigel Teare).
Ross Hayett is reported to be in talks with South African authorities.