02x01 - Shipwreck of n*zi Treasure

[bunniefuu]

[Jeremy]
Could a n*zi shipwreck

lying at the bottom
of the Baltic Sea

finally reveal the location of one of
the world's greatest lost treasures?

We start thinking, "My God!
Maybe it's something important."

[Jeremy]
Is there an unknown force

capable of snapping ships
clean in half

and sinking them
with no warning?

How can a ship just break
into two pieces?

[Jeremy]
And who or what is responsible

for a bizarre series
of sea lion mutilations...

in the waters around Vancouver?

It was something, in my
opinion, that did this deliberately.

[Jeremy] The underwater
realm is another dimension.

It's a physically hostile place

where dreams of promise
can sink into darkness.

[Jeremy] I'm Jeremy Wade
and I'm searching the world

to bring you the most iconic

and baffling underwater
mysteries known to science.

The vast majority of our ocean is
unobserved, unmapped, and unexplored.

[Jeremy] It's a dangerous
frontier that swallows evidence.

You have nowhere to run.

[Jeremy] Where unknown is
normal and understanding is rare.

[theme music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

Tales of lost treasure have captivated
our imaginations for centuries,

but few of these stories
are as puzzling

as the disappearance
of the Amber Room.

[firing]

It's the height of World w*r II

and the Nazis steal a priceless
masterpiece from the Soviet Union,

a dazzling room made of amber,
gemstones and gold.

When the brutal conflict
comes to an end,

all traces of this magnificent
treasure are gone.

But now a fresh investigation
by a team of divers

suggests that the Amber Room's
final resting place

might be deep beneath
the Baltic Sea.

[Jeremy] June 22, 1941,

Adolf Hitler's invasion of
the Soviet Union begins.

[explosions]

As they advance,

the Nazis pillage gold, art
and other valuable treasure.

High on Hitler's wish list
is the Amber Room

located in Leningrad's
Catherine Palace.

The Amber Room is often dubbed
the Eighth Wonder of the World

such was its absolute
magnificence.

[Jeremy] Made from huge panels

containing over six tons
of prehistoric amber,

gold and precious gemstones,

this extravagant chamber
is the envy of the world

and is estimated to be worth
up to half a billion dollars

in today's money.

Once captured by the Nazis,

the exquisite amber panels
are ripped from the walls,

placed into individual
wooden crates

and transported over land
from Leningrad

to the port city of Konigsberg.

The tide of w*r turns

and by 1945,
Konigsberg is under siege

and surrounded by the Soviets.

[g*n firing]

What happens to the Amber Room

during the onslaught
is unknown...

but when Soviet troops
finally capture the city,

all signs of it have vanished.

She disappeared and nobody
knows what's happened.

Where's the Amber Room?

That's the thing.
We don't know. It's a mystery.

[Jeremy] Many people
believe this priceless treasure

was destroyed
during the fighting...

but could the Amber Room
have survived?

Under the orders
of Joseph Stalin

in 1946 the KGB launches
a secret investigation.

The Amber Room is one of the
great cultural treasures of Russia.

The Germans stole it,
the Russians wanted it back.

[Jeremy]
And they uncover a vital clue.

A set of partially
burned letters

emerge from the smoldering
ruins of Konigsberg.

Dated January 12, 1945,

they order the immediate
evacuation of the treasure.

There's a very strong chance that the Amber
Room could have survived the Second World w*r.

[Jeremy] The search
shifts to mainland Europe,

deep into abandoned bunkers,
caves, and mines.

But have we been looking for this
lost treasure in the wrong place?

There have been numerous
attempts

to try and find the Amber Room
on land, but very few underwater.

The key thing here
is to remember exactly

where the Amber Room was
being stored. It was in Konigsberg.

The only way to leave
Konigsberg at this point in time

was on a vessel
going through the Baltic Sea.

What if the Amber Room never made it back
to Germany? What if it was sunk en route?

[Jeremy] Could this priceless
treasure be hidden beneath the waves

waiting to be found on one of
the Baltic Seas' many shipwrecks?

To save the soldiers
and civilians

trapped by the advancing
Soviets...

the Germans launch a huge rescue
mission, codenamed Operation Hannibal.

It was the biggest maritime
evacuation ever.

[Jeremy] Hundreds of
ships crisscrossed the Baltic,

running a gauntlet
of brutal weather

and Soviet submarine
and air attacks.

The Amber Room is an
irreplaceable artifact...

and very few ships can be trusted
to carry it on this perilous journey.

[dramatic music playing]

One of them
is the Wilhelm Gustloff.

It was the pride of
the n*zi Merchant Fleet.

It was their big status
cruise line.

[Jeremy] Hitler's very
own version of the Titanic,

the Wilhelm Gustloff was
designed to take n*zi passengers

on luxury pleasure cruises.

But with Germany losing the w*r,

the ocean liner is sent
to help with the evacuation.

As German refugees
pour on board,

another cargo
arrives at the dock.

It also picks up crates
which are under armed guard.

And you have to ask yourself,

why would you need armed guards

if there isn't something
incredibly valuable in those crates?

[Jeremy] A rumor spreads and some
of the passengers on the ship suspect

they hold the Amber Room.

The Wilhelm Gustloff departs
in a blistering winter snowstorm.

They do not expect any Russian
attack during this terrible weather.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Jeremy] But the defenseless
cruise liner isn't alone.

It's torpedoed by a Soviet
Submarine and it sinks very quickly.

It was the beginning of
a huge, huge, disaster.

[Jeremy] Most of the lifeboats
are frozen solid to their fittings...

triggering a calamity
of catastrophic proportions.

This proves to be the greatest
loss of life ever in maritime history.



[Jeremy] The wreck
of the Wilhelm Gustloff

is the site of one of the greatest
tragedies of World w*r II...

but could it also be the final
resting place of the Amber Room?

The mission to find out
begins in the 1960s

when Polish divers pinpoint
the location of the wreck.

But as the outline of the ship
looms in front of them

something isn't right.

The strangest thing was that
this supposedly unknown wreck,

this un-dived wreck had
had a lot of diving activity on it.

It appeared that there was
much more post w*r damage to it.

That the vessel
was destroyed, dynamited.

[Jeremy] If the Amber
Room was in the wreck,

someone has beaten
the Polish divers to it.

The disappearance
of the Amber Room

is one of World w*r II's
greatest unsolved mysteries.

But when divers narrow down
the search

for this lost treasure to
a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea,

they find someone has beaten
them to it.

Who got to the Wilhelm Gustloff
first, and why did they ransack it?

[Jeremy] Suspicion
falls on the Soviets.

They are the navy in the region

who had the technology
before the 1960s

to actually do this kind
of investigation.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Jeremy] Some people believe the
Russians knew the Amber Room was on board

and launched a secret mission
to retrieve it.

But if this was the case,

why wouldn't they announce the rediscovery
of this beloved national treasure?

Finding the Amber Room, if
they had managed to find it,

would have been a tremendous
coup for the Soviet Union.

[Jeremy] A survivor's
testimony emerging decades later

suggests they may have recovered

a different kind
of n*zi treasure.

Rudi Lange, who is a survivor
of the sinking of the ship

and the radio operator,

he came out in the 1980s and said,
"Nope, sorry. There was no Amber Room."

He said that those crates
were being guarded

because they were full of gold.

Could the Amber Room have actually
been loaded into a different ship?

Have we been hunting in
the wrong place all this time?

[Jeremy] Now, a team of Polish
researchers thinks this might be the case.

I'm absolutely sure they do not
use Wilhelm Gustloff for this mission.

[Jeremy]
Led by Tomasz Stachura,

the team has identified
a standout alternative ship...

the SS Karlsruhe.

Records indicate this ship
was heavily laden

with up to 360 tons of cargo.

The Hannibal operation focused
on civilians and on the soldiers,

so it was not very common
to take some cargo.

[Jeremy]
And there's another key detail

that makes the Karlsruhe
such an enticing candidate.

It was the very, very, last
ship to leave Konigsberg

before the
Soviet Forces arrived.

So maybe in a panic, the
Germans placed the Amber Room,

the gold, the gems,
the wealth, on this last ship.

[Jeremy]
But the ship doesn't get far

before it's spotted and attacked
by Soviet torpedo bombers.

One aircraft b*mb was sent
directly to the Karlsruhe

and she sunk in three minutes.

[Jeremy] To find out what
the Karlsruhe was carrying,

Tomasz and his team
first need to find its wreck.

So hunting these ships
is not a quick process.

It can take years.

[Jeremy] To aid the search, they
deploy a multi-beam echo sounder.

They create more of
a three-dimensional image

rather than a two-dimensional
image of what's on the seabed.

It's a pretty fantastic
technology.

We're very lucky
because we found the ship

which was exactly the same size.

Oh, my God!
Maybe we find Karlsruhe, yes?

[Jeremy] But the only way
for the team to know for sure

is to dive the wreck themselves.

We start to be absolutely sure
that we found Karlsruhe.

We start to see
more and more details

and our eyes
was bigger and bigger

because we were
absolutely surprised.

I am a diver of 40 years

and I never ever saw
so many artifacts,

so many chests, so many trucks
and motorcycles, g*ns...

[Jeremy] But are there any
signs of treasure on board?

We were convinced that maybe
we can find one or two crates,

but in one day we find


It's seeing your presents
on Christmas morning.

You don't know what's in them,

but you notice something
cool ready to be unwrapped.

[Jeremy] Some of the
crates have spilled open

giving a tantalizing glimpse
of their contents.

The divers can see
what looks like

the remains of canvas
and frames.

If they've got very fine expensive
artwork on board the Karlsruhe

then maybe also that could be
where the Amber Room is.

Tomasz and his team plan to return to the
wreck of the SS Karlsruhe in the near future.

With special permission
from the Polish government,

they plan to salvage some
of the unopened crates.

Their contents could reveal the
location the long-lost Amber Room

and finally solve one of the
greatest mysteries of World w*r II.

It's 2020 and the picturesque
beaches of Vancouver, Canada

are about to become the setting
of a series of shocking discoveries.

Over the course
of just a few months

the remains of several
sea lions are found.

All their heads are missing, removed
and separated from the rest of the body.

Whatever is behind these
brutal attacks remains at large,

but can the growing list
of suspects help solve

these bizarre
animal mutilations?

CTV News,
Vancouver Island report.

Good evening.
Thanks for being here.

A stellar sea lion has washed
up on a beach

near Campbell River
without its head.

[Jeremy] The recent
reports of these grisly remains

have gripped
the local population...

but it isn't the first time
this has happened.

Over the past ten years,

countless other headless
sea lions have been found,

dotted at different locations
around the Vancouver area.

I cannot imagine the horror
that must have been experienced

to come upon a sea lion

that has been decapitated
on the beach.

[Alexander] Are all
these deaths connected?

Is there a sea lion
serial k*ller on the loose?

[Jeremy] More worrying still,

whatever is happening to these
sea lions appears to be spreading...

and several seals have been
found in a similar state.

I'm no stranger to unexplained
animal attacks...

and I've spent many years on
the trail of unknown K*llers

that lurk beneath the surface.

So far, this case has
defied explanation.

So I'm eager to hear
first-hand evidence for myself.

In 2016, Vancouver resident,
Dave Stewart

is walking his dog
on a local beach.

[Dave] I've come back to it. I
just found this on the beach.

This seal's head's been
completely sheared off.

Completely taken off.

It's almost, it almost
looks fake in a way,

but like this is a,
it's a real seal.

I've never seen anything
like this ever.

It was fresh, like sushi.

Blood was coming out of the neck, dripping
out fresh. You can see this in the video.

Dave, are there any signs of
what might have done this?

You can see really nothing
disturbed in the sand,

certainly not around the seal
itself of drag marks or anything.

It was just sitting there
like it had been placed.

And can you tell me any details

about the wounds
around the neck?

Though it was something, in my
opinion, that did this deliberately...

not only is it, does it look
like it's been sliced,

but in one section it looks
like it's been gnawed at.

[Jeremy] It seems the
heads of these animals

are being intentionally targeted

and taken by something...
or someone.

Sea lions are huge animals.

They can typically weigh
over 2,500 pounds

and they can range
up to 12 feet in length.

There aren't many other
animals which can take them out.

[Jeremy] But there is
one leading suspect.

Some people think these attacks
could be the work of a known k*ller.

When a series of
decapitated sea lions

are found on the beaches
of Vancouver, Canada,

the general public and law
enforcement are equally baffled.

Could a ferocious predator
known to frequent these waters

be responsible for these
strange animal deaths?

[Lisa] k*ller whales,
also known as orcas,

frequently attack other
kinds of marine mammals.

It's been documented
that they catch sea lions

and sea lion pups
and play with them.

Literally, it looks like they're
playing ocean volleyball.

It could be forceful enough

to cause, literally, a
separation of some body parts.

[Jeremy] But these
highly intelligent hunters

may have a more specific motive.

k*ller whales will k*ll
blue whales and fin whales

and eat their tongues because
they think they're tasty.

Has some k*ller whale got
the taste for sea lion heads?

[Jeremy] But are k*ller
whales really to blame

or are they just
an easy scapegoat?

While k*ller whales are known
to play with their food,

there's no documented
cases of k*ller whales

actually ripping the heads off
their sea lion prey.

The fact that these sea lions
have simply been decapitated

and none of their juicy
blubber consumed

leads me to think that it
was not a natural predator

such as sharks or k*ller whales.

[Jeremy] With suspects
thin on the ground,

the case is in danger
of going cold.

But several of the sea lion
carcasses

hold an easily overlooked clue,

what appear
to be g*nsh*t wounds.

Fishermen have an uneasy
relationship with sea lions

because they're competing with
these sea lions for the same fish stock.

[Jeremy] In recent years, stocks
of wild salmon have plummeted

in the Vancouver area.

The reasons why are complex,

but an overpopulation of sea lions
is sometimes blamed as the cause.

They eat a lot of fish.

They have a habit
of breaking nets.

This can all make
local fishermen very upset.

And there have been
documented cases

where some fishermen
have injured, shot,

um, taken out sea lions,
which is really unfortunate.

[Jeremy] But if some fishermen
are sh**ting these sea lions,

why would their heads
also be missing?

They're protected.
They should not be harmed.

Harming a sea lion
is breaking the law.

[Jeremy] The penalty for
harming a sea lion in Canada

is a massive fine of
half a million dollars

or a potential two-year jail
sentence.

Fishermen could be sh**ting
the sea lion in the head

and then decapitating it to
remove evidence of the fact

that they shot the sea lion.

If you cut off the head, you
of course remove the evidence

of it having been shot
and you create a mystery.

[Jeremy]
With mounting evidence

that humans are behind
Vancouver's decapitated sea lions,

this decade-long mystery
might finally be solved.

And with citizens and
law enforcement on high alert,

hopefully it's only
a matter of time

before those responsible
are brought to justice.

In 2015, scientists are mapping the
bottom of Lake Constance, Switzerland

with state-of-the-art
sonar scanners

when they detect
an unexpected anomaly.

Beneath the surface, they find


that form an incredible
unbroken chain

running for six miles
parallel to the shore.

No one knows who or what created
this inexplicable formation of rocks,

but can fresh scientific
analysis

shed new light
on this megalithic mystery?

[Jeremy] The discovery
of this strange configuration

of underwater rocks
in Lake Constance

is soon picked up
by the European press

who dub it the Swiss Stonehenge.

These are very strange piles
of stone.

They're 100-foot wide
and 5-foot high.

[Jeremy] Each pile is made up of
thousands of individual large stones.

[Helen]
There are many, many, of them

and they stretch six miles
around the coast.

When archaeologists are
confronted with an anomaly,

the first thing
we ask ourselves is,

"Is this a man-made structure
or is this a natural formation?"

So one reason for thinking

these might just be natural
arrangements of stone

is that if you look
at the total weight,

you see 78,000 tons of rock.

[Simon] If these stones
had been put there by hand,

then that would have taken
an incredible effort.

[Jeremy] What natural force could be capable
of moving and assembling this formation?

[Lisa] Glaciers may appear static
when you look at them from the outset

but they are, in fact,
constantly moving.

[Jeremy] As these huge walls
of ice advance and retreat,

they have the power
to carve out valleys

and move huge amounts of stone.

These stones can find
themselves left behind

when the glacier retreats.

[Jeremy]
Twenty thousand years ago,

glaciers covered
a vast area of the Alps

including present day
Lake Constance.

So could the Swiss Stonehenge
have been formed by a glacier?

To put this theory to the test,

the mapping team turn more high-tech
equipment on the underwater stones.

Scientists use GPR, or ground
penetrating radar, to survey the site.

It gives them an idea of any
structures that are below the surface.

[Jeremy] The data it beams back
reveals something totally unexpected.

The Swiss Stonehenge sits well
above the mineral deposits

left by the retreating glacier,

meaning these stone mounds
were placed here

thousands of years later
and are man-made.

[Helen]
What on earth are they?

It's a real mystery.

When scientists discover that
a strange formation of rocks

beneath the surface of a lake
in Switzerland is man-made,

it raises more questions
than it answers.


are involved.

If it was man-made, it would
be a monumental effort.

[Jeremy] In 2019,
archaeologists returned to the site

with the mission of
unlocking its secrets.

If they find out when these
structures were built,

it might help reveal who made
them and for what purpose.

The team dig trenches and take
core samples around the rocks

which they date back at the lab.

It would appear as though
these enigmatic stone piles

uh, were placed there
over 5,000 years ago.

These stone platforms
date to the Neolithic

and they're actually older
than Stonehenge itself.

When we're talking
about the Neolithic period,

they're doing all sorts of weird

and wonderful things
with giant rocks

and we can see
that across Europe.

[birds chirping]

[Jeremy] But the underwater
location of these Stone Age structures

makes them particularly unique

and their purpose
all the more puzzling.

Could the answer lie in the
close proximity of the stone piles

to the water's edge?

They do bear
a striking resemblance

to similar platforms in the
outer Hebrides in Scotland,

and those platforms
are village sites.

[Jeremy] Known as crannogs,
these artificial rock islands

are believed to be the sites
of ancient wooden houses.

This house was built
on this lake

because it provided them with a ready
source of food and a ready source of safety.

[Jeremy] But unlike the
crannogs in Scotland,

the Swiss mounds don't have
any telltale signs of the bridges

that would have been necessary
to connect to dry land.

Their absence opens the door

to an entirely different
possibility.

What if these stone piles
weren't built in water after all?

Lake levels go up and down

and actually, we know that
during the Neolithic period,

the lake levels would be much
lower than they are today.

So therefore, the stones could
have actually been on dry land.

[Jeremy] If they
were built on dry land,

what purpose could these
rounded stone circles have served?

Researchers have long speculated

that other ancient sites have
a hidden celestial meaning.

[Alexander] There's various arguments about
the Pyramids of Giza lining up with Orion,

and, of course, Stonehenge is most
famously associated with various star maps.

We know that Neolithic people
were interested in the seasons

and measuring these things.

[Jeremy] Could the Swiss
Stonehenge be some kind of star map

or seasonal measuring tool?

Turns out this long line
of underwater stones

appears to line up with the sunrise
and sunset on the 21st of June,

which happens to be
the longest day of the year.

The stone formations discovered
in Lake Constance are fascinating

and they remain a mystery.

One theory states that they were designed
to align to different solar phenomenon.

[Jeremy] The stone
piles do seem to line up

with the sunrise and sunset
on the 21st of June,

the northern hemisphere's
summer solstice.

Initial thoughts are,
"Yes, these align.

That's really exciting.
We're seeing something."

But actually
when they start surveying

more and more of them,
that pattern just disappears.

[Jeremy] So the Swiss Stonehenge
doesn't match with the stars,

but that doesn't mean its purpose
wasn't aimed at the heavens.

In my opinion, the most likely explanation
for these incredible stone piles,

um, is that there was
some kind of monument

to do with funerary rights
or religion.

[Jeremy]
Throughout our entire history,

humans have built magnificent
monuments to mark death

and our passage
to the afterlife.

But how might the Swiss Stonehenge
have been used in this way?

We see quite a few megalithic
structures dating to the Neolithic

and some across this region
as well, which act as tombs.

[Jeremy] But no bones or
chambers have been found

inside the stone piles.

Could the remains of the dead have
been placed on top of the rocks instead?

They may have actually been
some sort of burial platform.

[Jeremy] These mounds might
have acted as altars for water burials

where bodies are placed on
the rocks in shallow water...

and left to be decomposed
by the lake.

It's a very complicated scenario

and we need to investigate more,

because ultimately what
this site is, is a mystery.

So the true purpose of the Swiss
Stonehenge remains unknown

and some people believe we may
never reveal its secrets,

but similar searches of
Switzerland's other alpine lakes

are already taking place

and future discoveries
may reveal more

about this baffling
underwater wonder.

Each year, dozens of cargo ships

crossing the world's oceans
vanish for unknown reasons.

Some of these vessels
disappear so quickly,

they take all clues as
to why they sank with them.

But can a terrifying
viral video shed new light

on what's causing some ships
to sink without a trace?

[Jeremy] It's January 2021

and the MV Arvin
is at anchor in the Black Sea

close to the northern coast
of Turkey.

As the cargo ship rides rough
swells, disaster strikes.

[man 1] [inaudible].

Mayday! Mayday!

[Simon] This must be a truly,
truly, terrifying experience.

The crew are on a ship
that's been torn in two.

[man 1] Mayday! Mayday!
This is cargo vessel Arvin.

Mayday! Mayday!

Arvin. [inaudible].

There was no warning signs
and that to me was just like,

"Holy cow! People are going
to die on this thing."

[indistinct chatter]

[Jeremy] The ship sinks
within a matter of minutes

disappearing beneath the waves
in two pieces.

Only six of its 12 crew
managed to be saved,

managed to escape.

[Michael] How in the
heck can this happen?

You know, this thing's
made out of steel.

It's, you know, welded,
it's put together.

What would break a ship?

[Jeremy]
The footage is chilling,

but what causes this sudden
and deadly disaster?

We know how dangerous
the Black Sea can be

at certain times of the year

and with certain
weather conditions.

[Jeremy] The strong winds
that sweep across the region

are capable of whipping up
waves as high as 60 feet.

But in rough seas, it's not
just a huge single wave

that can pose a threat to ships.

As the ship travels through
rough, rough seas,

you can get quite
dynamic stresses

being applied
to the ship's heart.

[Simon]
The hull is actually bent here

and there depending
on the power of the waves,

depending on which way
the waves are going.

[Jeremy] A particularly
dangerous scenario can unfold

when the front and back ends of
the ship are riding two different waves

leaving the weight at the
center of the ship unsupported.

This phenomenon
is known as sagging

and in severe weather
conditions it's been known

to seriously damage
or even sink ships.

The question is,
are the wave conditions alone

enough to explain why
the MV Arvin broke in two?

[Jeremy]
On the day it snaps in half,

the Arvin is experiencing
choppy conditions

but it's nothing out of the
ordinary for the Black Sea.

This puts stress on the hull,
but the ship's designed to take it.

[Jeremy] Ships only get
pushed beyond these limits

in the most extreme weather...

which has led some people
to believe

there could be more going on
than meets the eye.

Did something below deck
cause this disaster?

When a cargo ship snaps
in two in the Black Sea

and sinks in a matter
of minutes,

people look to the rough seas
for an explanation.

But could the true cause
of this maritime disaster

lie below deck,
in the belly of the ship?

The contents of the ship, the
cargo and how it's been stowed

and the weight of the cargo of
course as well, is also really important.

[Jeremy] Is this ship transporting
anything dangerous in its hold?

The MV Arvin is carrying urea
which is a granular substance

and it's not normally
considered hazardous.

[Jeremy] Urea is an inert
and non-flammable product

often used as fertilizer...

but even supposedly
safe cargos like this

can turn deadly
in the wrong conditions.

When cargo ships are loaded,

the weight needs to be
distributed evenly.

An unbalanced ship can list
or tilt dangerously once at sea...

and in worst-case scenarios,
it can even capsize.

But could an unstable cargo
hold the power to rip a ship in two?

Unlike container ships

which can have thousands
of separate metal boxes,

the Arvin is a bulk carrier.

MV Arvin had four separate
holes to put their cargo in.

It's dry bulk cargo.

[Jeremy] Huge loose loads
such as grain or sand

are poured directly
into the ship.

A rare poorly understood
phenomenon can strike at sea

that instantly transforms
these safe dry heaps of material

into a deadly
ship-sinking force.

If liquid or water is
introduced into a dry bulk cargo

it can become semi-liquefied,

basically turn into a mushy
jelly or pudding

and start sliding around.

[Jeremy]
This is known as liquefaction.

If small coarse substances
like sand contain moisture,

with enough disturbance
or vibration,

the molecules can become
energized and instantly change state.

For ships at sea,

this can lead to devastating
consequences.

The liquefied cargo can then move
around freely within the hold of the ship

which can wreak havoc with
the ship's weight distribution.

[Jeremy] Does the
Arvin's cargo turn to liquid

and slosh dangerously
around inside the ship...

causing a weight overload that
snaps the vessel clean in two?

For this to be the case,

moisture must have found a
way into its watertight cargo holds.

[Michael] That vessel was
old. It was almost 50 years old.

They actually did
an inspection on it

and they were complaining
about the rust on the deck,

the poor maintenance
of the vessel.

[Jeremy] Did water seep through
the Arvin's rusty bulkheads,

enter the cargo holds and help
trigger this disaster?

[Michael] This vessel
being as old as it was,

I think had something
to do with it.

The footage captured
on the MV Arvin

provides a rare chilling glimpse

of the final moments
on board a doomed ship.

Cargo liquefaction could have
played a key role in this tragic event

and it's thought up to ten
cargo ships a year could be lost

due to this poorly
understood phenomenon.

Footage like this is helping
scientists and shipbuilders

better understand its causes
and consequences

and their urgent work could help
prevent more disasters in the future.