A deep-sea treasure-hunting firm part-owned by former Premier David Saul has recovered gold bars from a wreck off the coast of South Carolina after setting sail from Bermuda.

And Dr Saul told The Royal Gazette yesterday that further exploration of the Central America steamship was likely to result in a “spectacular” haul of gold, thanks to “good summer weather and highly sophisticated equipment”.

Sunday’s New York Times reported that the successful mission by Odyssey Marine Exploration last month could open the way for a full exploration of the Central America and for as much as 18 tons of gold to be retrieved.

The article stated: “When it sank [in 1857], the Central America was steaming toward New York with a cargo meant to strengthen the city’s banks.

“The 280-foot vessel was carrying so much gold — commercial and personal riches from the California fields estimated at three tons, as well as a rumoured secret federal shipment of 15 tons — that its loss contributed to the Panic of 1857, considered the first global financial crisis.

“On April 15, the company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, lowered a robot into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and hauled up five gold bars weighing 66 pounds — worth about $1.2 million as metal and more as artefacts.

“That step, the company says, opened a new chapter in the saga of the Central America that will include raising the rest of the gold and exploring the deteriorating shipwreck.”

Dr Saul’s company is the first to explore the wreck in two decades. Although she was discovered in 1988, legal claims and counter claims meant that salvage operations have been put on hold until now.

The former politician told this newspaper: “The ship Odyssey Explorer went directly from Bermuda, on Friday, April 11, to the site. It had been on its way to Charleston for a crew change, when instructions were given to divert to the site, to the north of Bermuda, to complete ‘an admiralty arrest’ on the site i.e. pick up some object from the site to meet the requirements of the court in the US.

“Odyssey’s crew are experts in this type of recovery, and, indeed, the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) only spent two hours on site filming the wreck ... the five gold ingots were simply sitting on the bottom!

“Odyssey Explorer is back on the SS Central America and will be there for the next three to four months. With the good summer weather and highly sophisticated equipment, I expect that the volume of gold that is recovered will be spectacular.

“The story of the recovery will be fascinating and the film documenting the work will become a ‘best seller’.

“I look forward to following the activities of the crew, who have just finished the recovery of some 140 million worth of silver ingots — one of which is currently on display at BUEI — in 14,000 feet of water off SW Ireland. The Central America is only 7,200 feet below the ocean.”