$100M gold-recovery plan irks survivors

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 9

$100M gold-recovery plan irks survivors

NZPA London Survivors of the , World War II torpedoing of theBritish cruiser Edinburgh have sent a telegram to the Queen protesting against a British Government plan to salvage the ship's cargo of gold now worth nearly $llO million. v ' Some 30 British crewmen died when the cruiser sank to a depth of 275 m in the Barents Sea 240 km from the northern Soviet port of Murmansk. The secretary of the Edinburgh Survivors’ Association, Bill Daly, said yesterday the news of the salvage attempt was “very upsetting for all of us. “There are many of our shipments lying down there in the Edinburgh,” he said. “One of our members is a specialist in salvaging and says they cannot do it without disturbing the dead men.” A Government spokesman was quoted as saying the salvage' contract would provide for “the minimum inter-

ference with the wreck itself and for a Ministry of Defence observer to be present to ensure any remains are handled properly and reverently.” The Royal Navy cruiser was attacked by the Germans while carrying 5.5 tonnes of gold to the United States as part of the Soviet Union’s payment to the Allies for weapons and supplies. Successive torpedo raids nearly cut its stern in half and the Edinburgh was scuttled on May 2, 1945, rather than risk having Nazi Germany get- hold- of the gold. For 39 years, the fortune has lain in the wreckage in a politically sensitive area of ocean claimed by both Norway and the Soviet Union. After 25 years of searching, a British salvage crew found the Edinburgh’s wreckage in November, 1980. Until recently a salvage attempt was not thought feasible. But a spokesman for the Department of Trade,

which owns the vessel, said the rise in the value of the gold on board and advances in diving techniques made it more likely an unauthorised salvage operation would be attempted. Once the ship is raised, Britain will receive one-third of the gold and the Soviet Union two-thirds. The British salvage firm, Jessop Marine, is expected to receive $57.6 million if it succeeds. A Government spokesman said an agreement between Britain and the Soviet Union authorising the salvage operation was being signed in Moscow this week. Although the gold was to repay the United States for supplies shipped to the Soviet Union, the United States will get nothing from the salvaged gold. After the Edinburgh was torpedoed, survivors were transferred to accompanying destroyers, but an estimated 30 crewmen were buried with the ship. For that reason, the vessel was designated a war grave.