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RMS '''''Republic''''' was a steam-powered Ocean Liner built in 1903 by Harland And Wolff in Belfast , and was lost at sea in a collision six years later while sailing for the White Star Line . In her time, she was one of the largest, most modern and luxurious passenger vessels afloat. HISTORY White Star acquisition The ship was originally built in Belfast , Northern Ireland for the International Mercantile Marine's Dominion Line (a sister company to the White Star Line ) and was named ''Columbus''. After two voyages with Dominion, she was sold to White Star and renamed ''Republic'' (the White Star's original ''Republic'' of 1872 had been sold over a decade earlier). Collision with ''Florida'' In early morning of January 23 1909 , while sailing from New York City to Gibraltar and Mediterranean ports with 742 passengers and crew and Captain Inman Sealby in command, ''Republic'' entered a thick fog off the island of Nantucket , Massachusetts . The steamer reduced speed and regularly signalled its presence by whistle. At 5:47 a.m., another whistle was heard and the ''Republic's'' engines were ordered to full reverse, and the helm put "hard-a-port". Out of the fog, the Lloyd Italiano liner ''Florida'' appeared and hit ''Republic'' amidships, at about a right angle. Three passengers asleep in their cabins on ''Republic'' were killed when ''Florida's'' bow sliced into her. On ''Florida'', three crewmen were also killed when the bow was crushed back to a collision bulkhead.http://home.att.net/~rstinchcomb/newreck/republic.html The engine and boiler rooms on ''Republic'' began to flood, and the ship listed. Captain Sealby led the crew in calmly organizing the passengers on deck for evacuation. ''Republic'' was equipped with the new Marconi Wireless telegraph system, and became the first ship in history to issue a CQD distress signal.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rescue/filmmore/transcript/transcript1.html ''Florida'' came about to rescue ''Republic's'' complement, and a nearby U.S. Coast Guard cutter responded to the distress signal as well. Passengers were distributed between the two ships, with ''Florida'' taking the bulk of them, but with 900 Italian immigrants already onboard, this left the ship dangerously overloaded. The White Star liner ''Baltic'' , commanded by Captain J.B. Ranson , also responded to the CQD call, but due to the persistent fog, it was not until the evening that ''Baltic'' was able to located the drifting ''Republic''. Once on-scene, the rescued passengers were transferred from the cutter and ''Florida'' to ''Baltic''. Because of the damage to ''Florida'', that ship's immigrant passengers were also transferred to ''Baltic'', but a riot nearly broke out when they had to wait until first class ''Republic'' passengers were transferred. Once everyone was onboard, ''Baltic'' sailed for New York. Captain Sealby and a skeleton crew remained onboard ''Republic'' to make an effort to save her. Crewmen from the cutter tried using collision mats to stem the flooding, but to no avail.http://www.euronet.nl/users/keesree/allships.htm By this time the steamers ''New York'' and ''Lucania'' (from Cunard ) had also arrived, and waited while an attempt was made by the cutter to take ''Republic'' under tow. This effort, too was futile, and on January 24 , ''Republic'' sank. At 15,378 tons, she was the largest ship to have sunk up to that time.Pickford, Nigel Lost Treasure Ships of the Twentieth Century, National Geographic Society, 1999 ISBN 0-7922-7472-5http://www.rms-republic.com/index1.html All the remaining crew were evacuated before she sank. Rumored cargo There are many rumors that the ''Republic'' was carrying gold and/or other valuables when she went down. One rumor is that she was carrying gold worth $250,000–$265,000 in American gold coins to be used as payroll for the US Navy's government.http://www.rms-republic.com/index1.html All of these values, of course, are in 1909 dollars when gold was $20 per ounce. Today, the coin values would bring the recovery to at least many hundreds of millions of dollars, and some experts have estimated that the recovery (with proper marketing of the recovered coins) could approach $5 billion or more, making the ''Republic'' salvage the largest treasure recovery of all time.http://www.rms-republic.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11 Rediscovery The wreck of the ''Republic'' was found by Captain Martin Bayerle in 1981. She lies upright approximately 50 miles south of Nantucket Island http://www.rms-republic.com/index1.html at Latitude 40° 26' N, Longitude 69° 46' W in approximately 270 feet of water. Two salvage expeditions in the 1980s attempted to locate the gold, but were unsuccessful. However, the ship contains many other treasures. In addition to the gold, many ship and personal artifacts remain. To date, however, none of the rumored Czar's treasure has been found. The Salvage Continues In 2005, Captain Bayerle's exclusive salvage rights to the wreck were reconfirmed by the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts.http://www.rms-republic.com/legal/ He plans to re-survey the vessel in 2007, and is planning a major salvage for the summer of 2008. A "section lift" of the vessel is planned.http://www.rms-republic.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19 SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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