A South African shipwreck expert who spent 22 years looking for a British luxury liner that sank in 1909 said on Monday he was giving up his mission as he had ”exhausted all possibilities”.
Emlyn Brown said from Cape Town that his search for the Waratah, dubbed ”South Africa’s Titanic”, was propelled by a fascination to determine what exactly led to its sinking off the country’s eastern coast.
”Everyone knows that the Titanic hit an iceberg. But like the Poseidon Adventure, nobody knows why the Waratah just rolled over” while returning from Australia to Britain, he said.
”I can’t afford the time on the project, I have no idea where the ship is and we’ve exhausted all the possibilities now,” the 44-year-old said.
The searches were conducted in the southeastern coast between the Xora river and Bashee rivers, he said.
”It’s been a good innings, a great experience but I’m over this now,” he said.
”There are no regrets, only disappointment. But I’ve been able to work with the best scientists in the world, I’ve accumulated a great deal of knowledge and it has been worth it all the way.” – Sapa-AFP