‘Titanic of the Alps’ shipwreck to be pulled from water after 90 years
A shipwreck dubbed the ‘Titanic of the Alps’ will be raised from 700 feet below the water after being left abandoned for 90 years.
A shipwreck dubbed the ‘Titanic of the Alps’ is set to be raised from its watery grave after being left abandoned for 90 years.
The Säntis steamship will be brought to the surface after the rescue mission 700 feet below the water was finally approved.
After she sank in 1933 under the eerie waters of Lake Constance, the Säntis was given the unfortunate comparison to the Titanic for the way both beautiful ships sank to their deaths, The Sun reports.
Both mammoth vessels slowly entered the grave with their huge sterns rising out of the water as they sank.
The pair also share a number of technical similarities in how they were built and used such as both using a unique three-cylinder steam engine.
But unlike arguably the most well known shipwreck on the planet, the Säntis will be rising from the ashes to make a triumphant return to shore.
The Swiss authorities gave the Ship Salvage Association permission to pull her back up and raise her safely onto the neighbouring land later on in March.
Bordering Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, Lake Constance has kept the ship in a brilliant condition ever since she sank.
Silvan Paganini, the association’s president said: “It’s in really good condition.”
“We have here a freshwater lake, it’s really deep at 210 metres, it’s very dark there, it’s not much oxygen, so it’s really good conserved.
“You can still see the paint on the side and read the letters on the side of the ship.”
Once the Säntis is salvaged from the dark depths of the lake she will be officially recognised as the oldest surviving steamship from Lake Constance.
Named after the Alpine mountain, the Säntis could carry up to 400 passengers and spent 40 years sailing across Lake Constance.
Sitting at an impressive 158ft long, the ship was always regarded as a trusted transporter vessel.
Despite the Titanic similarities in the look and design, the Säntis sank after it was plagued with troubling money issues.
Mr Paganini said the ship was the first one to transfer from a coal powered engine to an oil-driven one – something that ultimately caused it’s tragic downfall.
He continued: “The ship was sunk because it was not used, and not needed anymore.
“It was a big crisis in 1933, and they took away all that they could still use – so, for example, the whole wooden deck they removed because they could burn the wood to make heat.
“Also some of the doors for example – they were found in cellars in the village here. Then they had still the steel left, and in the crisis steel had no price.”
The price of demolishing the Säntis was 10 times more than the value of completely scrapping her so the captain decided to scuttle her in May 1933.
The crew purposely sunk the great ship and she was all but forgotten about by the end of WWII.
But after being rediscovered in 2013, the Säntis was involved in an impressive $352,000 crowd-funding project to raise the ship to the surface.
Mr Paganini said: “The cheapest solution is lifting bags. They’re like balloons which work underwater, you fill them with air and then they lift.
“We plan to do the first lift at the end of March, from 210m to 12m, and then in April, the final lift from 12m to the surface.”
The Säntis will then be restored at the nearby shipyard in Romanshorn – where she was previously renovated in 1898.
Mr Paganini said: “We want to present to the public what we have here; what a monument we have from our predecessors. That is the main goal.”
Another abandoned shipwreck with $31 billion worth of treasure is about to be recovered from the sea 300 years after it was sunk during a battle with a British squadron.
Dubbed the “holy grail of shipwrecks” the legendary San Jose Galleon is finally due to be taken out of the Caribbean Sea by the Colombian government.
The location of the ship is a complete secret with rumours suggesting only the very top members of Colombian parliament know the exact coordinates.
Across the UK, 52 different shipwrecks are protected and preserved with only five of these being allowed to be seen.
Only divers with a license under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 can go searching for the lost goods and explore what lies beneath the sea.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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