Search to resume for sunken ship off the coast of Land’s End

There’s hidden treasure off the coast of Land’s End! 

A ship sunk off the coast of West Cornwall all the way back in 1641 (during the reign of Henry VIII!) and it’s nowadays thought to carry treasure that could be worth a whopping four billion pounds! 

What was the ship that sunk?

The ship, which was called The Merchant Royal but nicknamed to “El Dorado of the seas”, was journeying across the sea, packed full of gold and silver, from Mexico.

It was built in 1627 and used frequently for goods transportation between the then-Spanish colonies and European nations. 

But it sunk near the Isles of Scilly in 1641, presumably in a storm or turbulent weather. 

After sinking, it’s always been known that these great riches lie on the ocean bed, just past the southwestern tip of Cornwall. 

Have attempts been made to discover it? 

Lots of attempts have been made to locate The Merchant Royal, but so far they have been unsuccessful. So far, Odyssey Marine Exploration and Todd Stevens who is a famous treasure hunter, have tried to locate the wreck but haven’t yet been able to. 

In 2019, an anchor was found, which some think could be from the Merchant Royal – although so far, none of the rest of the ship has been found. 

That said, April’s search will be run by Multibeam Services and some of the best fishermen in the region, who know the waters like the back of their hand. They’ll use underwater vehicles and sonar to detect where the vessel could be on the sea bed. 

The area that Merchant Royal will search is fairly large – it’s thought that it’s close to the Isles of Scilly or Land’s End, but there’s a vast space around the islands where the ship could be. 

Is it really worth £4 billion? 

It’s estimated that the ship’s treasure could be worth £4 billion in today’s money – although nobody really knows for sure. However, if the ship is found, it’ll be one of the best naval discoveries in history! 

I know I’ll definitely be keeping up to date with this story – and of course, I’ll share as soon as I hear anything!

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