Full steam ahead in dream to dive for Lusitania
For 29 years, the irrepressible American dreamed of exploring the Lusitania in its resting place 90 metres beneath the waves and now, after 11 years trying to sell that dream in the Irish courts, he has finally got a chance to live it.
The Lusitania has been awaiting his arrival with remarkable forbearance considering all she has suffered. Sunk off the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork by a torpedo strike that cost the lives of 1,195 of her passengers on May 7, 1915, she has endured tempestuous seas, wild currents and raging storms for 92 years, yet still she remains largely intact, her secrets securely protected within.
It is to unlock those secrets that Mr Bemis intends assembling an exploration team of specialist divers, marine archeologists and ballistics and forensics experts, and sending them into the depths to bring to the surface what 92 years of official history is suspected of trying to conceal.
The Lusitania was, by official accounts, a passenger and merchant ship, so her passage between the US and England should have been a safe one despite the ravages of World War I. Her sinking by a German U-boat and the deaths of 124 Americans on board was considered an outrage in the US and was the defining factor in bringing the Americans into the war.
Germany always claimed the ship was laden with munitions for the British army, making her and her unsuspecting passengers a legitimate target. Accounts from among the 764 survivors lent weight to that theory. A second explosion was recorded, away from the original torpedo blast, suggesting gunpowder was part of the cargo.
That the formidable vessel, one of the renowned Cunard Line fleet, sank in just 18 minutes was also suggestive of an incident more catastrophic than a torpedo strike alone. Conspiracy theories have flourished, most accusing the British government of using civilians as human shields to protect munitions convoys, some even saying the passengers were deliberately sacrificed to draw the might of the US army into the conflict.
“If our belief is correct, that there were high explosives on board, which was counter to the law, then there has been a cover-up,” Mr Bemis said yesterday from his home in Sante Fe, New Mexico. “It’s a personal crusade of mine: I don’t believe in government cover-ups.
“I believe we need more transparency and more honesty. I would like to see this as an example of the truth finally coming out. Nobody is going to go to prison over this, nobody is going to get sued.”
To get to the truth, Mr Bemis first had to navigate the law. He bought the ship, which had previously been owned by a historical trust, with two co-investors back in 1968 but subsequently bought out their interests and went to court in England in 1986, the US in 1995 in Ireland in 1996 to ensure his ownership was legally watertight.
None of the jurisdictions objected to his owning the vessel but the Irish Government declared it a heritage site which prohibited him from in any way interfering with it or its contents. The protracted legal wrangle finally came to an end in the Supreme Court yesterday when the last Government appeal against the granting of an exploration licence was dismissed.
Mr Bemis now has a five-year licence, which should be just enough time to raise the financial backing for the project, estimated at €3 million, organise and undertake the hugely complicated dives and recover and analyse whatever artifacts and evidence will help piece together the ship’s true history. He hopes to bring a documentary crew to make a film and says any finds will be given to museums once analysed.
He is conscious of the sensitivities of diving on what was the final resting place of almost 1,200 men, women and children.
“Many people are torn emotionally between the desire for closure and the desire to not disturb the ship but in this case, the wreck is over 90 years old and any dives so far have not found human remains so I think the possibility of closure wins out.”
Despite the Irish Government’s initial opposition, he also feels he now has the goodwill of the authorities. A statement from the Department of Environment seems to back that view for it acknowledges defeat graciously and welcomes the detailed Supreme Court ruling which it says: “contains a number of important legal points which find in the minister’s favour and which throw greater legal light and certainty on the State’s approach to the licensing of certain maritime archaeological activities”.
Mr Bemis paid tribute to his solicitor, Richard Martin of Ronan Daly Jermyn, for refusing to abandon ship, legally speaking, when the seas got heavy.
“I am deeply indebted for his diligence, tenacity and commitment,” he said.
His ambition is all the more impressive given that this Harvard Business School graduate and venture capitalist is 78 and a grandfather several times over. But it is worth noting that he first dived the Lusitania two years ago at the age of 76.
“I saw her from a submarine in 1993 but this time I got to touch her and give her a big kiss. That was a good moment. We were a long time waiting to get together.”
