A daring operation to recover millions of euro of gold bullion from a shipwreck off the Donegal coast could see results shortly.
Will Carrier, Operations Manager with Atlantic Subsea Ventures, the company behind the salvage operation, told RTÉ news that they hope to see results in four to six weeks.
Mr Carrier was speaking on board the North Sea Giant, the huge vessel involved in the salvage operation, which docked in Killybegs this morning for a crew change.
ASV has researched many WW1 and WW2 ships which were believed to be carrying gold to finance the war effort when they sank.
This operation is focused on the Empress of Britain, once a luxurious ocean liner, it was requisitioned for the war in 1939.
The ship sank after being attacked in 1940, first by a German bomber and then by a U Boat, over 100km off the coast of Donegal.
Its location was found in 1995 but given the depth of the water there, a salvage operation was not feasible.
Now, however, ASV is using high tech equipment developed for the oil and gas industry to try to find and recover the gold believed to be on the sunken vessel.
It is using remotely operated vehicles and specialised cutting equipment to cut into the thick hull of the ship which was designed to withstand the ice fields around Newfoundland.
Mr Carrier estimates there could be half a billion euro worth of gold with the vessel at the bottom of the sea. He says the company would like to land the gold in Ireland.
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