BI had ordered two other ships of the same class from Barclay, Curle, but the Admiralty requisitioned them while they were being built, and had them completed as fleet oilers. Yard numbers 538 and 539 were laid down as Margha and Masula, requisitioned as Oligarch and Olinda, launched in 1916, and completed as Limeleaf and Boxleaf.[12][13][14]
Barclay, Curle built Mantola as yard number 514, launched her on 22 March 1916,[10] and completed her on 6 June for £146,700.[15] Her registered length was 450.4ft (137.3m), her beam was 58.2ft (17.7m) and the depth of her cargo holds was 32.7ft (10.0m).[16] Her tonnages were 8,253GRT, 5,131NRT, and 10,370DWT. She had berths for 127 passengers: 66 in first class and 61 in second class.[15]
On 8 February Mantola was in the Western Approaches, about 143 nautical miles (265km) west-southwest of Fastnet Rock, steaming at full speed and steering a zigzag course. U-81 fired a torpedo at her, which hit her abreast of her bridge, and rupturing subsidiary steam pipes, and releasing clouds of steam.[15] Captain Chivas gave the order to abandon ship, with only himself, the Chief Engineer, and the wireless operator remaining aboard.[17] Seven of her lascar crew were killed, either when the torpedo exploded,[17] or because one of her lifeboats capsized while being launched[8] (reports differ).
After about 90 minutes U-81 opened fire with her 105 mmdeck gun from a range of 4,000 yards (3,700 metres). According to one account, it was in retaliation for the Chief Engineer and Radio Operator getting the wireless working, and transmitting an SOS signal.[17] According to other accounts, it was because a party from the lifeboats tried to reboard the ship.[15] A passenger in one of the lifeboats counted 47 rounds fired, during which time U-81 closed to a range of 200 to 300 yards (180 to 270 metres) from the ship.[17] Then sloopHMSLaburnum approached, so U-81 submerged and left the area.[15][17]
The silver had war risk insurance, and the UK Ministry of Shipping paid £110,000 for the loss.[19]
Salvage and court case
In 1941 a different U-boat, U-101, sank a different BI ship, Gairsoppa, which was carrying an even larger amount of silver: about 7,000,000 ounces. Gairsoppa sank at position 50°00′N14°0′W / 50.000°N 14.000°W / 50.000; -14.000,[22] only about 60 nautical miles (110km) from Mantola. In 2011 the UK Government contracted a US company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, to find both wrecks and salvage the silver. The terms of the UK Government contract were that Odyssey was to keep 80 percent of the value of the silver, with and 20 percent would go to HM Treasury.[21]
On 25 September 2011 Odyssey announced that, using an ROV, it had found and identified Gairsoppa's wreck.[23] It is on the seabed at a depth of nearly 4,700 metres (3 miles). A fortnight later Odyssey announced that it had found Mantola's wreck at a depth of about 2,400 metres (1.5 miles).[19]
Odyssey worked on Gairsoppa first, salvaging 110 tons of silver from her wreck in 2012 and 2013.[24] Odyssey also salvaged the ship's bell and a piece of silk cloth from Mantola. However, Odyssey had not started to recover Mantola's silver bullion by September 2015, when its contract with the UK Government lapsed.[21]
In April 2017 "an unspecified United Kingdom entity" removed the 526 silver ingots from the wreck, took them to the UK, and deposited them with the Receiver of Wreck. That same month, Odyssey responded by bringing an action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New Yorkin rem against Mantola's wreck, and seeking disclosure of the identity of the party that salvaged the silver.[21]
In February 2018 the UK Department for Transport admitted that the salvage had taken place. However, it contended that Odyssey had no right to disclosure of the salvor's identity. The District Court dismissed the DfT's motion, but also denied as unripe Odyssey's request for disclosure.[21]
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References
↑ "Mantola (1921)". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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