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Sunken Treasure

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. on Monday said it confirmed the identity and location of a World War II-era shipwreck believed to be carrying 7 (m) million ounces of silver.

The SS Gairsoppa, a British cargo ship torpedoed by a German U-boat in February 1941, is sitting nearly 4,700 metres, or 15,419 feet, below the surface of the North Atlantic, about 300 miles (480 km) off Ireland's coast in international waters. The 412-foot (125m) ship was operating for the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport. Records say it was carrying silver valued in 1941 at approximately 600,000 British pounds.

Based on Friday's closing price of $30.10 per ounce, the trove would be worth more than $210 million today. Odyssey Marine said it would be "the largest known precious metal cargo ever recovered from the sea."