THE LUTINE'S GOLD

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 150, 28 June 1938, Page 11

THE LUTINE'S GOLD

PLANS FOR THE SEARCH ' i The world's largest tin-dredger, the : Karimata, equipped with 130 steel ; scoops, is to leave for Terschelling in j a new attempt to recover more than £1,000,000 in gold and silver from the Lutine, the British frigate which was , wrecked on a sand-bank off the island : nearly 140 years ago, said the Amster- , dam correspondent of the "Daily Tele- 1 graph and Morning Post" on May 29. 1 In preparation for this attempt i three salvage tugs With sand-sucking 1 apparatus have been removing sand i from the wreckage for the past ten ' days. The dredger, which is the pro- - perty of the Billiton Mining Company, of The Hague, was to have left tonight, but her departure has been postponed owing to unfavourable weather. Good weather is essential if the project is to be successful. Special reports will be sent each day to the Karimata, and tugs will be always in readiness to tow her into a safe shelter if the reports are unfavourable. She is 250 ft long and 75ft wide, and a rough sea would easily cause a disaster. SIFTING WRECKAGE. If conditions permit the dredger will 1 probably remain at the spot until Sep- ' tember 15. It is hoped that her 130 scoops, which are of a specially hard '• steel, will smash through the wreck- < age to a depth of 90ft. They are driven by an 1800-horse-power electric motor. ] The scoops, each of which weighs ■ about two tons and has a capacity of 100 gallons, will deposit their contents into a sifting apparatus. Pieces of wreckage will be automatically removed before the sifter is reached. The Lutine foundered in a storm while she was carrying about [ £1,250,000 in gold and silver bars sent by the Bank of England to save Ham- ' burg bankers during a time of flnan- ' cial crisis. Her entire crew of nearly ] 300 was lost. Many attempts have been made to salve the treasure, but only about £100,000 has been recovered. The ' ship's bell was brought up in 1859 and , was presented to Lloyd's, where it is rung on receipt of news of importance , to underwriters.

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