RMS Lusitania: Salvage License Finally Granted
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An American businessman, Mr F Gregg Bemis, based in New Mexico, was finally given a license to carry out a research and salvage expedition on the famous Lusitania which went down off the coast of Ireland taking 1,198 souls with her in 1915. Mr Bemis has been seeking permission since 1968 and has exp 
ressed his relief at finally being granted permission to dive on the ship by the Minister for Arts and Heritage. Bemis, who attended Harvard Business School first became interested in the Lusitania in the late 1960's when he was involved in a venture capital operation which included the ownership of the Lusitania in it's assets.
Bemis has various business assets and is wealthy but became more and more interested in the wreck since his own two dives, once in 1992 and again in 2005, when the team discovered two cases in the bow section of the ship. These cases contained 15,000 rounds of .303 bullets. Whilst this did not clear up the mystery about the second blast on the ship 20 minutes after it was torpedoed, Lusitania's manifest listed 2.4 million rounds of ammunition and the bullets were part of the cargo.
The Lusitania now lies at the bottom of the ocean off the south-west coast of Ireland and Mr Bemis has finally been granted his wish to investigate further exactly what happened to this ship. The Lusitania was launched on July 6th, 1906 with her maiden voyage from Liverpool in England to New York on September 17th, 1907. Britain had declared war on Germany in on August 4th, 1414 and Lusitania's transatlantic crossings were reduced to once a month due to a wartime economy measure.
In February 4th, 1915, Germany declares that all waters around Britain and Ireland are a "war zone" and all ships found there after February 18th would be sunk. The Lusitania flew the US flag in the hope of protection against the German submarines. On May the 6th the Lusitania sailed into the "war zone" and on the 7th of May 1915, U-20 torpedoes sank her off the old Head of Kinsale in Ireland. She managed to stay afloat for 18-20 minutes and survivors are taken to Kinsale and Cobh in Ireland. On the 10th of May, 1915, a mass funeral was held for her victims.
Bemis has various business assets and is wealthy but became more and more interested in the wreck since his own two dives, once in 1992 and again in 2005, when the team discovered two cases in the bow section of the ship. These cases contained 15,000 rounds of .303 bullets. Whilst this did not clear up the mystery about the second blast on the ship 20 minutes after it was torpedoed, Lusitania's manifest listed 2.4 million rounds of ammunition and the bullets were part of the cargo.
The Lusitania now lies at the bottom of the ocean off the south-west coast of Ireland and Mr Bemis has finally been granted his wish to investigate further exactly what happened to this ship. The Lusitania was launched on July 6th, 1906 with her maiden voyage from Liverpool in England to New York on September 17th, 1907. Britain had declared war on Germany in on August 4th, 1414 and Lusitania's transatlantic crossings were reduced to once a month due to a wartime economy measure.
In February 4th, 1915, Germany declares that all waters around Britain and Ireland are a "war zone" and all ships found there after February 18th would be sunk. The Lusitania flew the US flag in the hope of protection against the German submarines. On May the 6th the Lusitania sailed into the "war zone" and on the 7th of May 1915, U-20 torpedoes sank her off the old Head of Kinsale in Ireland. She managed to stay afloat for 18-20 minutes and survivors are taken to Kinsale and Cobh in Ireland. On the 10th of May, 1915, a mass funeral was held for her victims.
- An american businessman has finally gained a license to research the Lusitania
- Perhaps Mr Bemis will clear the mystery of the 2nd blast