The mysterious cargo of the RMS Republic

The ocean liner RMS Republic was built on February 26, 1903, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The ship was called the millionaires' ship because of its luxury. The steamer belonged to the White Star Line and was considered unsinkable. The liner with 742 passengers set off on another voyage from New York to Gibraltar on January 22, 1909. Early in the morning of January 23, while sailing across the North Atlantic, it was enveloped in thick fog and, 80 km south of Nantucket Island, collided with another ship and began to sink.

The ship's captain, William Silby, took all measures to rescue the passengers. Fortunately, the steamer was equipped with a Marconi telegraph transmitter, so the crew managed to send a distress signal, which led to the rescue of all passengers and crew members, except for two people who were unable to get out of their cabin. At 5:47 a.m. on January 23, the Italian liner SS Florida appeared out of the fog. All passengers were taken on board and transported to the Baltic States. This was the world's first ocean rescue made possible by radio. The event subsequently drew public attention to the new technology.

The ocean liner RMS Republic

Captain Silby and several crew members remained on board the Republic to try to save the sinking ship. The crew tried to stop the leak with whatever means they had at their disposal, but to no avail. A few hours later, the steamships New York and Lucania arrived at the scene of the accident and attempted to tow the stricken vessel. All was in vain. On January 24, 1909, the ocean liner RMS Republic sank.

After that, articles appeared in newspapers claiming that there was more gold on the sunken steamer than on Spanish galleons. Such information could not go unnoticed.

In 1980, American professional diver Martin Beyerly began to closely study data on the luxurious liner RMS Republic, owned by the White Star Line. In search of valuable cargo, he reviewed documents in five different countries, and over the years of research, he found a “trail” of money. The documents included payroll records for US Navy personnel, as well as a mysterious loan of $19,000,000 (now about $2 billion), which was being transported on board the liner and was intended for Russian Emperor Nicholas II. Naturally, the US government did not want to draw attention to this cargo.

In 1981, after finding investors, Martin Beierly organized an expedition to find the steamer and its golden cargo. Since the ship was about 180 meters long, it was not difficult to detect even with primitive sonar; all it took was patience. And Martin found the ship.

Martin Beyerly

Obsessed with his search, he went further to find gold, but was unable to locate any. He only managed to retrieve a few bottles of wine. His life suddenly changed due to family problems, and his son Grant Byerly took up the lifelong pursuit.

He spent almost a year planning the expedition, drawing up schedules and studying the weather in the region. After completing all the necessary paperwork, Grant Byerly used his own money to hire the ship WARREN JR. with divers and the necessary equipment. He invited an experienced underwater archaeologist for consultation. But the gold cargo was never found.

Grant Beyerly

Soon after, in 2004, Martin Beyerly founded MAVIS, which acquired the legal right to explore the wreck of the RMS Republic. In 2013, Martin Beyerly published the bulk of his research on the ship in a book entitled The Billion Dollar Secret. Now the company has investors who plan to resume the search for the RMS Republic's gold cargo. MAVIS is currently preparing for a major search operation planned for the summer of 2021.

The Byerly family is convinced that the gold is on board, it just needs to be found. Grant Byerly also wants people to appreciate his father's contribution to the search, so he is eager to see the case through to the end.