Wreck of Russian warship found, believed to hold gold worth $130 billion

[jpak]

Source: CNBC

A South Korean salvage team has reportedly discovered the wreck of a Russian warship that is believed to still contain 200 tons of gold bullion and coins worth 150 trillion won ($130 billion).

The Russian Imperial Navy cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi, which was sunk in a naval battle 113 years ago, was discovered at a depth of more than 1,400 feet about one mile off the South Korean island of Ulleungdo, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The U.K. newspaper reported that a joint team made up of experts from South Korea, Britain and Canada discovered the wreck on Sunday. They had used two manned submersibles to capture footage of the vessel.

The images caught by the submersibles show “extensive damage to the vessel caused in an encounter with Japanese warships in May 1905, along with cannons and deck guns encrusted with marine growth, the anchor and the ship’s wheel,” the Telegraph reported.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/18/wreck-of-russian-warship-found-believed-to-hold-gold-worth-130-billi.html

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[lagomorph777]

1. Holy crap.

This is going to make a "ton" of news. I predict a protracted legal and diplomatic battle. Any bets which side Pres Turd will take?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Reports say that it's already been agreed Russia gets half, the local economy 10%

and the salvagers the rest, I think.

[lagomorph777]

4. Wow! That's a shitload (or shipload) of gold!

Glad there's a deal struck.

[mitch96]

5. How much you wanna bet NK swoops in and steals the gold...

Once the salvage ship gets it out of the water.... They are a very cash starved bunch of criminals..
m

[Sherman A1]

7. I don't know if there is any agreement as to how this is divided but

a warship is considered national property to my understanding and remains property of the Russian State. It is also a gravesite for the sailors lost when the ship went down. I believe that all of it belongs to Russia just as it would belong to any Nation State who's warship was lost at sea.

[Coventina]

8. That would be ridiculous, unless the boat went down in Russian waters or the national

waters of one of their allies.

A warship in someone else's territory is a hostile entity and shouldn't be considered the property of the hostile nation that sent it.

[Sherman A1]

9. It's still property of the nation and a

War grave from what I understand, it belongs to the Russian Navy.

[Coventina]

11. That's just rewarding bad behavior. n/t

[MicaelS]

12. No it is not.

All sunken warships are still considered the property of the nation that they belonged to, no matter the location.

Plus, since sailors died aboard the ship, the ship is still considered a War Grave. Just like crashed aircraft sites are War Graves. You can no more salvage a sunken warship for the wealth it contains, than you can go dig up a grave in the ground for what it contains.

[Coventina]

13. Well, apparently this gold recovery is happening, War Grave or no.

So, it seems whatever "law" governing this isn't as official as all that.

[MicaelS]

14. They will have to negotiate with Russia.

The Russians will demand a big chunk of the gold, if not most of it.

[Coventina]

15. According to the article the Russians are getting half.

Which is more than they deserve.

I don't believe in rewarding aggressors.
But I guess that's just me....

[Sherman A1]

16. Precisely

and your points are spot on. It is a war grave. As to the recovery of any such items be they historical relics or gold that is mentioned here, they are property of the Russian Government. I believe that each nation is capable of making the decisions for the remains of those lost in their service and their military hardware and assets.

It's not just finders keepers out there.

[Sherman A1]

17. I completely disagree

The behavior of the national government be it acceptable to you or not does not diminish the sacrifice of those lost in their service. Those are the remains of human beings entombed in that vessel and that alone should be respected.

[Coventina]

18. That ship went down over 100 years ago. Any human remains were fish food long ago.

Are you seriously saying that the remains of a Japanese Zero in Pearl Harbor should be treated the same way as the USS Arizona?

(Not that any of them would still be around either, but more chance of that than any of the Russians aboard this vessel.)

[Sherman A1]

19. Yes,

that is PRECISELY what I am saying and I believe that is backed up by International Treaties and The Law of the Sea.

[Coventina]

20. Well, it doesn't seem to be applied in this case.

Unless Russia only wanted half their gold back.

[Sherman A1]

21. Because it is being handled differently

Does not make it proper or correct.

[Coventina]

22. seems to me that if the law was on their side,

Russia would insist on all "their" gold.

Or, if the grave aspect is so important, to leave the gold there.

[metalbot]

23. The flip side of that, of course...

Is that if the Russians had no claim, then it would seem odd for South Korea to magnanimously grant $65 billion to the country that provided air power and pilots to North Korea during the war.

The Russians have the law on their side with regards to the "ownership" of the ship and property.

The South Koreans would have the law on their side if they wanted to prevent the Russians from launching a major salvage operation in their territorial waters.

The gold split is the compromise that they reached.

[Coventina]

25. So in other words, where the wreckage is DOES matter.

And the law isn't absolute.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. I also believe the only way it would not be theirs, is if they abandoned claims to it.

[relogic]

2. A nice boost...

to the SK economy if they can claim it. How many commemorative gold coins with the rump face missing can that cache supply? I vote for Buddha or “In Reason We Trust”

[TheRealNorth]

6. The idiocy of the Tsars

Seems like a lot of eggs to put in one basket

[oneshooter]

24. From WIKI "After negotiations broke down in 1904, the Japanese Navy opened hostilities by attacking

the Russian Eastern Fleet at Port Arthur, China, in a surprise attack.

It seems that neither Korea or japan have a claim. The Japanese were the aggressors and the warship including the cargo belongs to Russia.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. Shipwreck claim: Police probe Shinil Group over 'Russian treasure find'

Police have raided the offices of a South Korean company which claims to have found a treasure-laden shipwreck.
...
Speculation has since spread that the alleged find might have been a scam to trick investors.

Shinil chief Choi Yong-seok has been banned from leaving South Korea.
...
The firm has faced allegations of trying to artificially boost share prices, or seduce investors into buying a crypto-currency issued by a Singaporean company, also named Shinil Group.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-45093892