U.S. company granted salvage rights to ship believed to contain millions in B.C. gold
A Seattle-based company has been granted salvage rights to a ship containing piles of gold that sank near the B.C. coast in the 19th century.
The SS Pacific collided with another vessel shortly after it departed for a trip from Victoria to San Francisco in November of 1875 and was never seen again. Roughly 275 people, many of them gold miners, are believed to have died in the wreck.
Several unsuccessful attempts to locate and recover the boat have been made over the years, but Jeff Hummel, the president of Rockfish Incorporated, believes his team has done it.
"This is a childhood dream realized in adulthood, finding this particular vessel,” Hummel told CTV News.
Hummel says he began his pursuit of the boat in the '90s. In 2017, he formed a team in Seattle to track it down.
He says they embarked on 12 expeditions using a sonar and a towed camera sled.
Rockfish based its search off old records that showed the vessel went down southwest of Cape Flattery, as well as information from fishermen who found coal in their nets.
Hummel said the team obtained a piece of the coal and had it tested in a lab in Alberta. The results ended up matching the chemical analysis of coal from a mine owned by the owners of the SS Pacific.
“From that we were able to determine, it was from the wreck,” Hummel said.
Hummel says it was ultimately the sonar imaging equipment that zeroed in on the boat.
"We saw something that looked like the paddle wheels, and so once we identified those and we took some measurements on some of the other equipment I said, 'OK, this absolutely is the Pacific,” Hummel said.
Inside the boat is believed to be at least $5 million worth of gold, as well as many other valuable artifacts.
Last month, Rockfish was granted salvage rights to the ship in the United States District Court in Seattle.
However, anyone who can prove a family connection to an owner of the gold or any other item can come forward to attempt to claim it.
“It’s kind of like a process of probate,” said Hummel.
He says the team also wants to recover things like the steam machinery and paddles, which they believe are still intact.
"The state of preservation, I think, is going to be just really renowned with regards to this wreck,” he said.
Hummel, who’s also the director the not-for-profit Northwest Shipwreck Alliance, says he’d like to build a museum and hotel.
"We're just looking forward to telling about the ship and particularly about the lives of the people that were on board,” he said. “It was very important to Puget Sound, Canada and Victoria.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Murder charge laid after man falls to death from Toronto apartment balcony
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini's execution
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Zendaya tennis movie ‘Challengers’ scores at weekend box office
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Nicole Kidman, who 'makes movies better,' gets AFI Life Achievement Award
Morgan Freeman spoke the words, but pretty much everyone who took the stage at the presentation of the AFI Life Achievement Award agreed: "Nicole Kidman. She makes movies better."