Explore this derelict treasure hunters' ship with a scandalous past

Discover the secrets of this derelict treasure-hunting vessel

Bedraggled and forlorn, the Arctic Discoverer was left to rust away in a Florida dock after being used to recover millions of dollars' worth of gold lost in one of the most notorious shipwrecks in US history. The illustrious vessel harbours a fascinating story of glory turned to greed, worthy of a Hollywood movie.

Read on to explore the forsaken craft and find out why its former captain is languishing in prison...

Veteran vessel

The Arctic Discoverer first launched in 1958 as the A T Cameron, a Canadian research trawler and icebreaker. The ship was decommissioned in 1981 before being put back into service the following year as the Arctic Ranger.

Renowned UrbEx photographer Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast got a chance to tour the derelict vessel in 2016.

At the helm

In 1988, the veteran vessel was snapped up by the Columbus-America Discovery Group, a salvage company headed by marine engineer and treasure hunter extraordinaire Tommy Thompson, who had assembled a team of experts to locate the legendary SS Central America, the so-called "Ship of Gold" which sank in 1857.

Tommy was photographed at the helm of his boat in 1991, with crew members Bob Evans (centre) and Barry Schatz.

Famous shipwreck

The fabled steamer sank 160 miles (257km) off the South Carolina coast during a hurricane, leading to the loss of 425 lives, along with its precious cargo. The ship was transporting gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars today, which was being brought in to prop up New York's struggling banks.

The loss was so great it contributed to the Panic of 1857 – one of the world's first truly global financial crises.

Hi-tech rebirth

Thompson was convinced he had a good idea where the wreck was located and needed a ship robust enough to carry the necessary scientific equipment to pinpoint the location exactly, along with his 12,000-pound (5,443kg) submersible robot, Nemo.

After sourcing and purchasing the icebreaker, the treasure hunter transformed it into a state-of-the-art deep ocean research and recovery vessel and rechristened the boat the Arctic Discoverer.

Wreck discovered

The exact location of the wreck was finally discovered on 11 September 1988 with the help of one of the world's first marine global positioning systems, together with the Nemo robot. What they found inside would have repercussions that would last decades.

“The bottom was carpeted with gold. Gold everywhere, like a garden,” Thompson said of the moment they located the treasure, according to Colombus Monthly, a magazine covering news in central Ohio, USA.

Thompsons strikes gold

Thompson and his team went on to recover gold ingots, coins and other valuable artefacts worth many millions of dollars. This photo taken in 1989 shows the treasure hunter holding a $50 pioneer gold piece retrieved during his deep-sea adventures.

Then the trouble started...

Legal battle

After learning of the discovery, 39 insurance companies that had been operating in 1857 put a claim on the gold and filed lawsuits.

The legal battle dragged on until 1996, when the presiding judge awarded Thompson's crew, the Columbus-America Discovery Group, 92% of the treasure. But by this point, Thompson had drawn the ire of the 161 investors who had bankrolled the search and salvage operation.

Zero return

They had paid Thompson $12.7 million (£9.6m) to find the wreck and recover its cargo but had seen zero return on their investment.

Looking at the dilapidated interior of the R/V Arctic Discoverer, it's hard to imagine so much money went into buying the ship and financing the search. Exploring the control room, which is in an appalling state, you can see that Thompson left behind an array of now-dated equipment.

Bumper sale

This device may have been part of an old sonar machine, used for detecting underwater objects.

To make matters worse, Thompson sold hundreds of gold bars and thousands of coins to the California Gold Marketing Group in 2000, netting around $50 million (£37.4m). Two of the investors teamed up to sue Thompson in 2005. They were joined a year later by members of the crew, who claimed they'd been cheated out of money as well.

On the run

In 2012, a warrant was issued for Thompson's arrest. However, instead of handing himself in, the treasure hunter went on the run with his girlfriend, Alison Antekeier.

The pair were wanted for contempt of court and – as we can see here – their mugshots were displayed on billboards in Ohio.

Sold for scrap

With its owner AWOL, the Arctic Discoverer was confiscated and sold at auction for $50,000 (£37.4k) the following year.

The buyer intended to strip the ship and sell it for scrap metal, then auction off the contents on eBay.

Hiding out

Looking around the command centre, it's evident that most items of value had already been removed from the ship, with only random odds and ends – including a tub of leather protecting cream, a pair of vintage glasses and a stapler – left behind.

In 2015, Thompson and his girlfriend were finally located hiding out in a Boca Raton hotel room. Clearly not short of money, the fugitives were found with $425,380 (£318k) in cash.

Ohio extradition

Vintage gadgets still remain on the ship, such as this SI-TEX Loren marine navigation receiver, which can be picked up on eBay for less than $35 (£26).

Following their arrest, the duo were extradited to Ohio and put in front of a judge. Antekeier received a five-month sentence, which included a month in prison, two months of house arrest and two months credit for the time she'd already served on remand. Her boyfriend wasn't quite so lucky.

Missing coins

Thompson was questioned about the whereabouts of 500 missing gold coins, not to mention the $50 million (£37.4m) he'd received in 2000.

The treasure hunter told the judge the coins were being held in a trust in Belize, but wouldn't divulge their precise location, much to the annoyance of the investors.

Millions gone

One of the cabins of the ship is pictured here. Like the other parts of the bridge, the abandoned space is looking rather the worse for wear to say the least, with its crumbling wall panels and debris strewn across the interior.

As for the millions Thompson had received from the sale of gold ingots and coins back in 2000, his supporters reportedly claim that it had been pretty much swallowed up by legal fees and outstanding loans.

Court sentence

The ship's hull is a shadow of its former self too, from rotting wood and rusting metalwork to the tangle of ropes and discarded equipment littering the deck. It's difficult to imagine it ever being seaworthy now.

Unimpressed with his excuses, the judge sentenced Thompson to two years in prison and fined him $250,000 (£187k).

Contempt of court

However, the sentence is delayed until Thompson reveals where the coins are and assists in recovering them. The coins are said to be worth up to $4 million (£3m), and their recovery would go a long way towards appeasing the out-of-pocket investors.

However, Thompson maintained that he did not know the whereabouts of the coins and was held in contempt of court as a result.

Legal limbo

Thompson has been languishing in prison since 2015, trapped in a sort of legal limbo – and he's still in prison as of September 2024. The case is highly unusual as the normal maximum limit for holding someone in contempt is 18 months, but a federal appeals court has ruled the limit doesn't apply in this situation.

Thompson is facing a bill of more than $2.7 million (£2m) and counting for failure to disclose the coins' whereabouts and could remain in prison until he does so.

Cruel metaphor

Like the ship he used to pinpoint and salvage the SS Central America, Thompson has effectively been left to rot.

In the meantime, salvage giant Odyssey Marine Exploration began busily locating and recovering more treasure from the SS Central America. The company was awarded a contract to salvage the wreck in 2014.

Ongoing salvage

In fact, Thompson reportedly only investigated around 5% of the shipwreck at the time, leaving a staggering 95% of the site still to be explored.

Since it started its operation, Odyssey Marine Exploration has salvaged thousands of gold coins, ingots and other precious items worth tens of millions of dollars.

All that glitters...

While Odyssey Marine Exploration has made an abundance of remarkable discoveries, few rival the 80-pound (36kg) ingot Tommy and his crew found in 1988. The Gold Rush brick earned the nickname 'Eureka' and it sold to a private collector for a staggering $8 million (£6m)
​in 2001, making it the most valuable piece of currency in the world at the time, according to SF Gate, a San Francisco-based news outlet.

This photo shows two more gold bars found by Thompson. They were displayed at the New York Museum of American Financial History in 2003 as part of an exhibition showcasing the history and scandals of the US capital markets.

What's next for Tommy Thompson?

11 September 2024 marked 36 years since Thompson struck gold on that remarkable day back in 1988. While typically federal law dictates defendants on contempt charges should serve no longer than 18 months, there are examples of others who have been incarcerated for much longer periods.

Ultimately, judges released those individuals after realising they were not going to change their minds – and the same could happen for Thompson. Both the judge and federal prosecutor in the case have indicated it may be time to lift the contempt order and allow Thompson to serve his original two-year sentence, according to Colombus Monthly.

Intriguingly, a National Geographic documentary detailing Tommy's rise and fall was released in 2024; Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Left to languish

As for the Arctic Discoverer, now lying redundant, the once cutting-edge research vessel lingers at the dock in Green Cove Springs, Florida. You can't help but feel a twinge of sadness that such a storied ship has been scrapped so unceremoniously.

What began as a treasure hunt of epic proportions spun into a far darker tale, one whose ending is still unclear...

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