THE SEARCH FOR THE S.S. TILAWA

BREAKING NEWS!   

COURTESY OF deepoceansearch.com/project/tilawa/

September 18th 2024, was our first look at photographs showing one of the salvaged 2,364 silver bars (60 tonnes of silver bullion) of the ill-fated S.S. Tilawa. 

Here you can secure a full-size bar struck in 1128.8 ounces of highly pure 99.9% fine silver—that’s more than 70 pounds (70.55 pounds) of high-grade silver bullion!   In 2017 a British Exploration company visited the SS TILAWA wrecksite.   In 1942, the Bombay Mint sold the silver to the Union of South Africa for the purpose of coinage.   This is the first time we are viewing the wreck site and objects from the area of the forgotten tragedy. Yes, the area where we lost 280 of our loved ones.   We hope one day to see these artifacts in person.   

In 2014, the wreck was discovered by DEEP OCEAN SEARCH LIMITED with their survey vessel  JOHN LETHBRIDGE. In 2017, a salvage operation financed by ARGENTUM EXPLORATION LIMITED and managed by DEEP OCEAN SEARCH LIMITED was undertaken. The silver bars were eventually found in one of the opium rooms. 

DOS went to look for the wreck of Tilawa in 2014. The search site was some 800 miles from land and it was expected that the seafloor in the area would be difficult. In fact, it was chaotic, with large rocky outcrops interspersed with abyssal plain. The water depth was in excess of 4,000 meters.

Within three days from the start of the search, a target was found, an intact wreck of approximately the correct dimensions.

72hSearch

The sonar target was clearly a wreck and was quickly located by our Comanche ROV. It was found to be lying on her port side, and most unusually, at an angle of approx. 45 degrees, due to the rocky ledge she landed on. First images seen corresponded to drawings and photographs. Now, off to the bows to see if a name could be seen.

4,500mDepth

DOS undertook the salvage operation in 2017 from the vessel Seabed Worker.

There were two spaces locations in the ship which were of immediate interest and which would be relatively easy to access as possible storage sites. These were, the mail room and the specie room. Both were empty… Given the great daily expense associated with keeping a large ship such as the Seabed Worker at sea, with the additional costs of marine and technical crews, fuel etc., the next steps to try to locate the cargo had to carefuly weighed. After a detailed review of the many other spaces within this very largee ship into which the bullion could possibly have been stored, DOS management decided to open up a possible area located deep within the wreck; the Opium Rooms.

The salvage team began the painstaking job of cutting through the hull plates inclined at 45 degrees and then working their way systematically down through the various decks to get to this specific small area in the center of the ship. The first room was empty. Then, into the second. At first, all that could be seen was a jumble of jute sacks, but eventually, after some digging, metallic objects came into sight lying in the bottom and pressing against the lower bulkhead of the room. On closer inspection, silver bars – a cascade of them!

The silver could now be recovered by the ROVs, bar by bar. All 2,364.

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