An internationally-renowned marine archaeologist from Fife is to search the depths of the Atlantic for lost gold worth up to £200 million.
Neil Cunningham Dobson from St Andrews is part of a team attempting to search the wreck of the SS Central America, which sank off the coast of North Carolina during a hurricane in 1857.
Onboard was an estimated 21 tons of gold, earning the steamer the nickname The Ship of Gold.
Over 7,000 feet below the surface, Mr Dobson and his company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, have already visited the site and are set to explore further.
“Exploring the wreck comes before raising the gold,” he said. “We conduct visual surveys of the site before a recovery commences.
“Working in deep water always has it challenges. We are just outside the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream working in more than 2,000 metres of water, 160 miles offshore.
“Every wreck I work on is exciting as you never know what you are going to discover.”
With the wreck lying around twice that of the depth of Titanic, work on the site is only possible through the use of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) cameras.
An expedition to recover gold from the wreck was undertaken by another group towards the end of the twentieth century, but legal disputes soon followed the recovery of material from that trip.
Mr Dobson claims he is not motivated by money but by the adventure of exploring new wrecks.
“I have seen quite a bit of gold on shipwrecks but to me some of the other artefacts we’ve found are more interesting.
“I have one of the coolest jobs on the planet and I am very privileged to be amongst the first to see and explore wrecks that have not been seen since they were lost.
“I get a huge buzz when I first set eyes on a wreck.
“I come from a seafaring background and the lore of the sea is intoxicating to me.
“For me it’s the story of the ship, the technology it represents and the people. That’s the real treasure.”