by Ivan Penn, Tampa Bay:
Tampa’s sunken treasure hunting firm Odyssey Marine Exploration has recovered its largest haul yet, a record-setting 61 tons of silver bullion from the bottom of the North Atlantic.
Odyssey Marine said the recovery of the silver from the sunken British cargo ship SS Gairsoppa is reportedly the largest precious metal recovery in history. Odyssey retrieved the treasure from a depth of 3 miles below the surface, also a record.
“This was an extremely complex recovery which was complicated by the sheer size and structure of the SS Gairsoppa as well as its depth nearly 3 miles below the surface of the North Atlantic,” said Greg Stemm, Odyssey’s chief executive officer, in a news release.