''Goldfinder'' is a 2001

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of British diver and

treasure hunter Treasure hunter is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasure ...

Keith Jessop Keith Jessop (10 May 1933 – 22 May 2010) was a British salvage diver and successful marine treasure hunter. History Early life Born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, as the son of a penniless Yorkshire mill-worker. Jessop learned to deep ...

. It tells the story of Jessop's life and salvaging such underwater treasures as , one of the greatest deep sea salvage operations and most financially rewarding in history. One day in April 1981 Jessop's

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...

''Dammtor'' began searching for the wreck of in the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

of the coast of Russia. The ship had been sunk in battle in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while carrying payment for

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

equipment from

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

in Russia to Scotland. His company, called Jessop Marine, won the contract for the salvage rights to the wreck of ''Edinburgh'' because his methods, involving complex cutting machinery and divers, were deemed more appropriate for a

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

, compared to the explosives-oriented methods of other companies. In late April 1981, the survey ship discovered the ship's final resting place at an approximate position of 72.00°N, 35.00°E, at a depth of within ten days of the start of the operation. Using specialist camera equipment, ''Dammtor'' took detailed film of the wreck, which allowed Jessop and his divers to carefully plan the salvage operation. Later that year, on 30 August, the dive-support vessel Stephaniturm journeyed to the site, and salvage operations began in earnest. Leading the operation undersea, by mid-September of that year Jessop was able to salvage over $100,000,000 in Russian

gold bullion A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced ...

(431 bars) from the wreck out of 465 over several days making him the greatest underwater treasurer in history. Jessop died on 22 May 2010.

References

{{authority control Underwater diving books 2001 non-fiction books British autobiographies