Finding treasure in a sunken shipwreck may seem like a myth or fantasy to some, but for Anthony Clake, an executive at Marshall Wace in London, it’s apparently a reality. Recently, a Bloomberg investigation revealed that the hedge fund manager has been directing and investing in high-tech operations to recover treasures from the bottom of the ocean.
With billions of dollars behind him, Clake has sent multiple marine robots and sonar systems thousands of feet below the sea to make 3D maps of the seabed. This technology aided Clake in the 2016 discovery of the SS Coloradan, which contained drums of gold precipitate. Another find, off the coast of West Africa, unearthed 50 tons of silver coins. Bloomberg reported that the discovery was kept secret, the coins melted down and sold, and everyone involved had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Under international law, anyone who discovers a shipwreck must report it to the authorities. In 2015, the San José, a sunken Spanish galleon, was discovered off the coast of Colombia by one of Clake’s team members. The bounty aboard the San José was valued at billions of dollars, but the Colombian government and Bolivian indigenous groups halted the plans to recover items from the ship.
Competing claims from other treasure hunters and governments are not uncommon, which can lead treasure hunters to engage in shady business. According to the Bloomberg Businessweek investigation, Clake’s teams have reportedly performed “wet storage,” which is the act of moving finds to different underwater locations to avoid government interference.
As of now, it is unclear how much money Clake has made off deep-sea treasure hunting.
Read more.
