Professional DVD

Pioneer DVD is Part of Expedition Team on the Hunt for Lost Gold

Odyssey Marine Expedition, Inc., Tampa, Florida

On October 18, 1865, the SS Republic, a prestigious sidewheel steamer, left New York bound for New Orleans on what seemed to be a typical voyage.  Five days into her trip off the Georgia coast, a storm blew in that became a perfect hurricane later that evening.  After two days battling hurricane conditions, she was left powerless, drifting at the mercy of the elements.  Exactly one week from the day the Republic left the shores of New York, lifeboats and a raft launched as the ship sank helplessly into the deep blue.

According to accounts, the survivors would separate and drift aimlessly, some for another week.  The four lifeboats and one raft would eventually be plucked one by one from the sea.  By then, some ill-fated passengers were forever gone, along with the SS Republic, and its estimated $400,000 in specie (1865 value).

For more than a century, the lost treasures of the SS Republic remained every explorer’s dream.  And for more than 130 years, its secret lay sleeping, undisturbed 1,700 feet below the Atlantic Ocean.  But now, that has changed.

Underwater explorers Greg Stemm and John Morris, founders of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (AMEX: OMR) finally struck gold in November 2003.  Stemm and Morris are leaders in the field of deep ocean shipwreck exploration.  Nonetheless, it took Odyssey 12 methodical years of research and state-of-the-art exploration to locate and identify the SS Republic 100 miles off the Georgia Coast.

Modern day explorers on a high-tech quest for the lost past: Odyssey is conducting the archaeological excavation of the SS Republic from the Odyssey Explorer, a 251-foot dynamically positioned ship and state-of-the-art deep ocean archaeological platform.  Odyssey’s mission is to recover, preserve and share the cultural heritage of the SS Republic.  Odyssey Marine Exploration is a dedicated leader in an industry exploding with possibilities and technology.

Recovery, conservation and documentation are three of six critical steps on each expedition conducted by Odyssey. 

The recovery operations combine unprecedented high-tech robotics, cameras and specialized computer hardware and software to carefully record the location of artifacts in situ, throughout the entire process. 

The centerpiece of Odyssey’s advanced robotic archaeology system is ZEUS, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).  The 200-HP vehicle is the size of an SUV and weighs seven tons. ZEUS is rated to operate at depths to 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) and is driven by eight powerful hydraulic thrusters. Hardy yet graceful, ZEUS provides exceptional dexterity and fine control required for delicate archaeological procedures. The ROV pilots and archaeologists work in concert aboard the recovery vessel, directing robotic operations taking place up to 8,200 feet in depth.

The detailed footage taken of the SS Republic plays an integral role in the conservation and documentation process. Every item recovered from a shipwreck site must go through a detailed process, which may take weeks, months or even years. During this process, the artifacts are conserved, studied, photographed, described and recorded. Findings are then published and shared with the archaeological community.

The hours of intricate footage are recorded on two Pioneer professional DVD video recorders (PRV-LX1). The decks are being used with an HD and three chip broadcast quality camera feed from ZEUS. The system’s cameras feed high-resolution video signals through advanced fiber optic telemetry to the surface. The data is monitored live and can be reviewed as needed or stored for final documentation of the expedition. The decks were installed last summer when the Odyssey Explorer was purchased and mobilized for the Republic expedition. They have operated flawlessly.

“Odyssey owns and employs some of the most advanced equipment on our search and recovery vessels,” said Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Expedition. “By integrating Pioneer’s industrial DVD-Recorders, we can assure meticulous recording and archiving of our entire expedition for the appropriate documentation and sharing among the archaeological and academic communities.”

In October, 2003, the Odyssey team aboard the Odyssey Explorer began conducting the archaeological pre-disturbance survey on the Republic shipwreck site. By November 2003, official excavation had commenced and the first coins were located and recovered.

To date, more than 51,000 coins have been recovered including $20 Double Eagles, $10 Eagles, half dollars and quarter dollars. Coins collected thus far have an estimated retail value exceeding $75 million dollars and are some of the finest known examples of United States gold and silver coins from the period, according to Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS). As of July 2004, approximately 25 percent of the face value of specie that research indicates was on board has been recovered and about one half of the shipwreck site has been excavated.

It is estimated that there are more than 3 million shipwrecks in the world.  Odyssey’s database includes as many as 3,000 that may contain valuable cargo such as the Republic. As such, the company has more than 20 active shipwreck projects in various stages of development, many of which may use the DVD-based recording as part of Odyssey’s high-tech arsenal for exploration.

Although this may seem a mere drop in the vast oceanic bucket, it can be said by many in the deep ocean exploration industry that the extensive care and documentation taken by Odyssey to record their explorations are as good as the gold it recovers – priceless.