I have the location of sunk WW2 Wreck

[Sherlock_Holmes]

Greetings all.

This is my first post on this forum and I have never been to this site before or read any posts in detail, but a web search I conducted threw back this site with the name of a world war 2 ship which was sunk in 1943 by a German U-Boat. The ship was part of a convoy and was transporting thousands of tonnes of copper and other metals and to date (as far as I am aware) has not been located by anyone.

I know this because before my Father passed away in October 2012, he had been working on a project to salvage the ship and retrieve the contents for sale on the LME. Needless to say the project never went ahead since he was the brains behind the project and all his knowledge relating to the wreck unexpectedly died with him.

My Father was a service man and had a career in the merchant navy, with many years experience in salvage operations, having worked for Risdon Beazely in the 70s and early 80s.
In the years Before his death he had built up a portfolio on the wreck and had identified a 7sq mile stretch of water where the ship lies. This information was gleaned from archive records, testimony from the rescuing ship and also from the account of the U-Boat captain.

The wreck lies in about 100m depth off the west African coastline and I have all the nautical maps and information on the location of this wreck.

If this information is of value to anyone on this forum, or by extension anyone else with an interest, please PM me for details.

Kind Regards
Andy S.

 

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[kayakpat]

So you do not have the exact location of the ship. That is also the area most troubled by pirates. Sounds like a adventure

 

[ilchiusa]

well at least it's a starting point..now you just need a rich investor, lots of spare time, good crew, at least 1 ship and best equipment out there..after have searched 7sq miles and found the ship there is not way you recover a cargo of copper with divers at 100m..

 

[Sherlock_Holmes]

Yes ilchiusa, My dad had put together a strong team, with a survey vessel for the search phase and had a detailed business plan for all the required resources, just he never managed to get all the financing in place before he became sick.

I know the plan is to open the hull manually and grab the metal with mechanical winch.

There is no way I have the skill, ability or time to act on this plan, so I'm hoping someone has an interest.

 

[T.C.]

Where do I send my check??

 

[Mackaydon]

Reminds me of U-123 and the Kanbe; similar cargo, date and location.
Don......

 

[Red James Cash]

If the ship is a liberty ship,it could carry roughly 11,000 tons of cargo.Copper goes for roughly 5900 a ton,that equals to 64,900,000.Good luck and go heavily armed

 

[BVI Hunter]

My dad had put together a strong team / There is no way I have the skill, ability or time to act on this plan.

If the team was in place, do they know the location?
if the team was in place, can they not assist you?

 

[Mackaydon]

The Kanbe carried 3,500 tons of copper; or $20,650,000 at $5,900 per ton.
I'm not suggesting that the Kanbe is the OP's vessel, but it is a sample of what values were lost to U-boats in '43.
Don.....

 

[kayakpat]

sounds like a fishing trip to me.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Should be an adventure. Trouble is it will likely cost a boatload of silver to recover a boatload or copper at 330 ft depth

 

[cw0909]

looks like 7 ships in 1943 got hit by a U-boat, a couple of them look close
as in miles to each other
Ships hit by U-boats during WWII - Search - uboat.net

 

[Sherlock_Holmes]

Yes Mackaydon, it is the Kanbe. I Knew I came to the right place.
Sunk 8th May 1943; The Uboat captain stated that it might have broken in two from the torpedo hit.

 

[Mackaydon]

Lost 60 miles south-southwest of Monrovia, Liberia.
I can't imagine how many millions of $ it would take to search, salvage and sell that cargo.
Then there's the issue of who owns the cargo and getting permits to salvage.
Anyone looking at this 'opportunity' should take a good look at the political climate; history of coups, dictators, etc.
Don.....