"I woke with the crash   . . . found water rushing into the hold at a furious rate . . on deck all was confusion"
  Neil Henly - Survivor



An artist's rendition of the collision that sank the "Seattle". The other ship was damaged but sailed away. Due to a navigation error, the other
ship ran aground hours later.
SEATTLE PROJECT
(Formerly code-named the "Republic" Project)


OVERVIEW:
An operation to locate, identify, recover, conserve and market the cargo of the "Seattle", a steam ship that sank after the Civil War. The "Seattle's" cargo included approximately 48,000 troy ounces of gold. While the bullion value (at $ 280 per ounce) is approximately $13,000,000, much of the gold may been shipped as dust, nuggets, and privately minted coins and bars from the gold fields, potentially increasing the value of the cargo. Odyssey has reached an agreement with researchers and insurance interests that gives the company 80% of any net revenue generated by the project.

STATUS:
Search operations were conducted during September 2003 which were non-conclusive. Further operations will be necessary to locate this shipwreck. This project's location in the Pacific Ocean requires that it be performed in a relatively narrow weather window every year between August and October. Odyssey plans to reevaluate all of the research and data before planning the search area for the 2004 season.

BACKGROUND:

  • The number of passengers aboard the "Seattle" exceeded safe capacity. It was the end of the gold mining season, and impatient miners lacking tickets simply boarded the ship at the dock. Including last minute passengers and stowaways, the actual number of people lost in the disaster may never be known, but some estimates exceed 275. In addition to the miners, the passenger list included some of the wealthiest and most influential bankers in the region. One was transporting a cargo of gold to a U.S. mint, where there was an acute shortage of gold for coinage.

  • The men who discovered the famous gold fields (from where most of the gold on the ship had been recovered) were lost with the ship, along with their belongings.

  • Among the families lost in the disaster was a river captain, his wife and child. This captain had recently sold his interest in a shipping company and was reportedly carrying a large amount of gold to purchase a new ship.

  • The cause of the tragedy was a strange collision in the ocean. Another ship crossed the "Seattle's" path and the watch aboard the "Seattle" couldn't stop the ship in time. The other ship drifted off without offering assistance. (Although damaged, the other ship would have made it to port if a navigation error had not been made that caused the ship to run aground hours later.)

  • The "Seattle" sank quickly. The few lifeboats that were launched sank or capsized almost immediately. After more than two days of drifting aboard wreckage, only two people were rescued.


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© Copyright, 1998 - 2004, Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., Tampa, FL
33679-2057, USA - All Rights Reserved
* Names of shipwrecks, dates and other information may have been changed for security purposes. The values estimated for this project may have used assumptions based on research that could prove to be erroneous. It is also possible that research into the potential value could be incomplete or not have taken into account prior sales of similar cargoes or artifacts which are deemed to have been marketed poorly, or not sold with certification that the artifacts came from a properly supervised archaeological excavation. The net value of the expedition to Odyssey may prove to be significantly less than the estimates given here as a result of operational expenses, percentages to governments, and inability to completely salvage a site. As enunciated in Risk Factors, there may be nothing of value whatsoever recovered from this project.