一家美国公司获得了147年前在华盛顿州海岸沉没的船只的打捞权，其中可能含有价值约1000万美元的黄金。

1875年11月4日，SS Pacific号从Esquimalt出发，在恶劣的天气条件下驶向旧金山。据悉，这艘桨轮至少载有275名乘客。

SS Pacific号起航后不久，与另一艘船只相撞，在华盛顿州海岸附近沉没。有两名幸存者，这被认为是西海岸最严重的海难之一。

Rockfish公司总裁杰夫·胡梅尔（Jeff Hummel）提到，他对这艘船已经了解了近40年。所以，从他上高中起，他就一直认为有人能在他之前发现它，并用它做点什么。

据报道，这家总部位于西雅图的公司最近在美国地方联邦法院赢得了打捞该船所需的专属权利，理由是海事法允许沉船发现者尽一切可能的进行打捞。然而，如果有公众能够证明他们与船上发现的物品有联系，他们可以提出索赔并收回。

Hummel表示，这涉及大量的侦查和跑腿工作。Rockfish公司充分利用了之前探险的信息，在Cape Flattery以南约64公里的大范围搜索区域内发现了一块煤炭。据报道，化学分析表明，这些煤炭与船上的煤炭相匹配。

该公司总裁解释说，直到水下机器人识别并观察了桨轮，专家们才能确定这艘船就是太平洋号。

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这艘船可能藏有价值数百万美元的黄金。根据2009年题为《太平洋SS》的论文，1875年11月4日，275人丧生；乘客中包括维多利亚时代的名人、富商、一个马术剧团、多名淘金者和41名来自中国的劳工。

据作者达里尔·c·麦克拉里(Daryl C. McClary)称，这些私人手中的黄金至少价值10万美元。这些黄金在今天的价值约为1000万美元。

总统表示，至少有四个人站出来声称自己是后代，其中一人来自温哥华岛。Hummel希望更多的人站出来，据他说，这是故事中令人兴奋的部分。

总统表示，至少有四人站出来声称自己是后裔，其中一人来自温哥华岛。Hummel希望有更多的人站出来，据他说，这是故事中令人兴奋的部分。

他们与非营利组织“西北沉船联盟”(Northwest Shipwreck Alliance)合作，获得打捞权的条件之一是，必须建立博物馆，展示从SS Pacific号上收集的文物。Hummel提到他想在普吉特湾附近开博物馆。

潜水员预计将于2023年秋季开始这一探索。

英文原文

A US-based firm has earned salvaging rights to the vessel that sunk off the Washington State Coast some 147 years back and may have gold worth about $10 million.

On 4 November 1875, the SS Pacific departed from Esquimalt and set sail for San Francisco in poor weather conditions. The paddle-wheeler was thought to be loaded with a minimum of 275 passengers.

Shortly after it set sail, the SS Pacific ran into a collision with another vessel and sank off the Washington State coast. There were two survivors, and it is considered one of the worst maritime disasters on the west coast.

Jeff Hummel, the president of Rockfish Incorporated, mentioned that he has known about the vessel for almost 40 years. So since he was in high school, he’d always thought that someone would be able to discover it and do something with the vessel before he did.

The Seattle-based firm reportedly won in a US District Federal Court recently the exclusive rights needed to salvage the vessel citing maritime law that permits discoverers of shipwrecks to recover whatever is possible. However, if there are members of the public who can prove their connection to possessions found onboard, they can file a claim and repossess it.

Hummel said that it involved heavy detective work and legwork. Making the best use of information from previous expeditions, Rockfish Inc. found a piece of coal in a vast search area of about 64 kilometres toward the south of Cape Flattery. A chemical analysis reportedly determined the coal matched that of what would have been on the vessel.

It was not until the paddlewheels were identified and looked at with the underwater robot that the specialists could determine that the ship was the Pacific, explained the firm’s president.

The vessel may be harbouring gold worth millions of dollars. Per a 2009 paper titled The SS Pacific, there was a loss of 275 lives on 4 November 1875; the passengers comprised prominent Victorians, affluent businessmen, an equestrian troupe, multiple gold miners, and 41 labourers from China.

The gold supposedly in private hands is worth $100,000 (at least), per author Daryl C. McClary. The gold today would hold a value of about $10 million.

The president has said that at least four individuals have come forward and claimed to be a descendant, including one from Vancouver Island. Hummel is hoping that more individuals will come forward, and that, according to him, is the exciting part of the story.

Collaborating with the non-profit firm named Northwest Shipwreck Alliance, a condition of their salvaging rights is that a museum needs to be established for displaying artefacts collected from the SS Pacific. Hummel mentions that he wants to open that museum near Puget Sound.

Divers are expected to begin the procedure in the fall of 2023.

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