TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A Florida exploration company says it has located an $18 million fortune in silver in a sunken ship in the North Atlantic and plans to retrieve it.
Odyssey Marine Exploration of Tampa, Fla., said it had located the Mantola, a British steam ship sunk by a German torpedo in World War I off the coast of Ireland with its cargo of around 20 tons of silver, The New York Times reported Monday.
The company said it has been contracted by the British Department of Transport to recover the silver from a mile beneath the ocean surface.
Under the contract, Odyssey will keep 80 percent of the silver's value and the British government will get 20 percent.
This is the second treasure ship Odyssey has located under contract to the British government.
In September, Odyssey announced it had located another British ship off Ireland, the Gairsoppa, torpedoed in 1941 and sunk with a cargo of 240 tons of silver worth more than $200 million.
