Situated off the coast of Kinsale in County Cork, RMS Lusitania remains underwater almost a hundred years after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat as it made it way from New York to London, resulting in the loss of 1,201 lives. The disaster is considered the catalyst to US involvement in the First World War as 114 Americans were among those killed.
Gregg Bemis, an 87-year old businessman from New Mexico, bought the shipwreck in the 1960s and held plans to recover valuable historical artifacts from the sinking ground. He fully acquired the wreckage in 1982 when he bought out his partners to become the sole owner. The wreckage was originally claimed by the Liverpool & London War Risks Insurance Association who sold it in 1967 to US Navy diver John Light for £1,000. Bemis became a co-owner from 1968.