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Monday, 2nd February 2009 (1869 views)

A company has stated that it has uncovered the wreck of the fourth of six incarnations of the HMS Victory and expects to find millions of pounds worth of gold aboard.

The wrecked vessel, which predates Lord Nelson's HMS Victory, sunk off the Channel Islands during a storm in October 1744 with 1,150 sailors onboard.

A report in the Telegraph revealed that Odyssey Marine Exploration believes that the ship contained 100,000 gold coins (around four tonnes) when it hit The Casquets, a group of rocks in the English Channel.

Deep-sea explorers from Odyssey Marine Exploration have been examining the 17th century wreck, which they have codenamed 'Legend' and are expected to confirm that it is the HMS Victory.

The vessel is believed to have been found in international waters, but will be protected by 'sovereign immunity' if it is found to be a military wreck and Odyssey Marine Exploration is understood to have been liaising with the UK government about recovering the treasure.

In a similar discovery, a shipwreck laden with thousands of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins dating from the 15th and 16th century was found by geologists off the coast of Namibia in April last year.

 

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