U 534 in jeopardy??? - Historic Warships liquidates....

[rick]

Does anyone have any info on what will become of U 534 or the preservation effort when they liquidate?? This is a real disappointment......Rick

[tabledancer]

I read on the U-Boat

I read on the U-Boat Net that the owner of the boat said that it could go to Denmark and would cost 1 million to transfer it there,though there might be a few options left to keep it in the UK.I think this is very bad what is going on over there.This boat shouldn`t be lost AGAIN.
TD

[rick]

Hey Mike....I agree....I got a

Hey Mike....I agree....I got a letter from Sharkhunters today and Harry says that if they dont find someone soon...that it will be cut up for scrap!!!!! I cant believe that the guy who paid to have it raised would allow that...but then again maybe he doesnt want to spend any more money on it....sure hope someone steps up and preserves this boat, it would be a real tradgedy to lose it at this point.....

[tabledancer]

According to the thread over

According to the thread over at the U-Boat Net the owner of the boat said if no body steps up the boat will most likely go to a museum in Denmark
TD

[rick]

Now It Can Be Told…………..
Now–

Now It Can Be Told…………..
Now– what’s REALLY happening with (or TO) U-534? HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983) went to Denmark two years ago and had a look at what was removed from the boat. If you remember, the press at the time had a great laugh that nothing came off the boat but some wine and a case of condoms. Not true!
Most people interested in the history of the U-Bootwaffe know the story of U-534……..well, only PART of the story. You are going to learn a LOT more here and now.
The so-called condoms, as Sharkhunters reported, were actually the balloons, when filled with hydrogen, were used for the APHRODITE radar defenses much like modern day chaff is used. What we have not reported until right now is that there were two tons of documents and paperwork on board U-534….two tons! All this paperwork is stored in a temperature controlled warehouse and small amounts are being thawed out and rinsed with fresh water so they can be translated. Experts want to know what they contain.
Probably the biggest secret is the fact that U-534 carried not one but two Enigma machines – a three wheel and a four wheel version of this coding device. They were wired together, making more or less a seven wheel Enigma. If you will remember some years ago, we wrote that a very high power mobile radio transmitter/receiver truck code named CROCODIL was stationed on the Obersalzberg and its sole duty was to maintain radio communication with certain U-Boats which were already on the high seas the final day or two prior to the German surrender.
Here is pretty much what you DO know]www.sharkhunters.com[/url] KTB #192
Now It Can Be Told (continued)
Some of our Members got involved but for reasons which will become obvious, we will not reveal their names. There were four in the group and HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983) was the spokesman for the group. One was an extremely sharp financial guy, another with connections to very rich financials and the third a deep cover mole, so to say.
HARRY contacted the wealthy Dane who owns the boat and got the conversation opened. All was moving in the right direction, but then this man put one of his underlings in contact with HARRY and they were going to work out the preliminaries. At this point, all appeared to be going okay – except that this fellow had been part of a group that was trying to get a submarine book turned into a movie some years ago and this Danish fellow more or less, sank the entire project with his antics described at best, as bad business or at worst, “self-rewarding”…..you can figure that out.
He was not aware that HARRY had this advance information, and he quickly set about making the waters muddy. At first he said the price for the submarine itself and all the artifacts, rights to publish and to make movies etc. concerning U-534 would cost our investor $5 million dollars! Five million dollars was ridiculous, and our group told him that this price was way out of line.
Okay, he quickly said the price would now be between $3 and $4 million dollars. If you know anything about business or negotiating contracts, you know that you NEVER ask a price range – you state a price, either firm or allow negotiations – never a range.
Based on the previous knowledge of the book to movie deal that this Danish fellow was involved with coupled with the strange way these numbers were beginning to fly around without any substance or reason to them, our group asked for something more definite. We were then told that the deadline was not so close and that there were others also interested in the boat. The wording of the emails was not in a businesslike manner but more or less a challenge. All this did not seem right, so HARRY sent what he thought was the final email, telling this underling that we were no longer going to pursue this possibility, at least for a while.
Then came some of the craziest emails we have ever gotten! This underling emailed to HARRY and said that if he were a man, he would give the reasons our group was no longer interested. Since it was obvious that this fellow was not moving forward as a normal businessman would, there was no reply. Then after a few days went by, another email from the underling stating that he had “an open hand or a closed fist” in which he more or less stated that we had better start dealing with him again and take his open hand, or he would give us the closed fist. Interesting negotiating concept…
We don’t know if this is the usual way that business is conducted in Denmark, but we seriously doubt it and in all the years that any of us have been in business, none of us have ever seen business in this manner – except perhaps the Mafia. We hope that this fellow is perhaps under the influence of some kind of medication – if not, then he really needs help. In any event, talks are stalled until the man who owns the boat puts someone less volatile in charge of his negotiations. But what of U-534? The clock is ticking very fast, and the future is looking bleak for this submarine.
More information on U-534 as we receive it and it will be real, not the fairy tales seen on the Internet.

[tabledancer]

I just hope that the

I just hope that the boat doesn`t get scrapped as was the story going around.I`ll have to do some checking around and see if I can find out any more.Good job Mike.
TD

[tabledancer]

I just hope that the

I just hope that the boat doesn`t get scrapped as was the story going around.I`ll have to do some checking around and see if I can find out any more.Good job Rick.
TD

[rick]

Does anyone have any more

Does anyone have any more info on the fate of this boat??

[rick]

continued,,,,,,,,,,

And now for the bad news regarding U-534. Okay, first we will begin by saying that the owner of the boat is being pressed to a huge degree. The owner of the property where U-534 currently site had levied a lien against the boat for reportedly several hundred thousand dollars. The owner of the boat had thought about bringing the boat back to Denmark - but the cost of the cranes at each end of the move plus the barge from England to Denmark would total nearly half a million dollars. This is a great deal of unplanned money and a great deal of tension for what was once described as a 'rich boy's toy' and it has gotten out of control. We are told that the owner of the boat does not even want to hear the number "534" again. This is not good.

But it gets worse! According to our S.E.I.G. Agents and their associates, vandals have gotten aboard the now unguarded U-534 and have plundered her. A lot of items are popping up on eBay that have been stolen from U-534. Some of our Members and Agents are informing eBay as quickly as they spot these items being listed and they are removed from eBay, but the items are indeed, being stolen from the boat. Where they end up is another situation - but they have been removed from this historic boat.

This entire situation appears to be a rich man's quest for a "toy" without a long term plan for what to do with the boat when it comes to the surface - where to put it, how to finance the clean up, how to finance the operation for the tourists coming aboard AND of course, how to finance and provide security for this priceless piece of history. It is shameful! And it appears to be beyond our control to help or save the boat, since Sharkhunters does not have near the amount of money necessary to do this. While the owner of the boat reportedly wants five million dollars for the boat, it is my opinion that if offered a WHOLE LOT LESS to take the boat AND the responsibility off his hands, he would jump at it like a starving man to a beef steak. But then of course, we would need to have a plan in place AND the funds to move the boat and a place to put the boat and a staff to operate her. Without all this, I fear that U-534 will end up a victim of well intentions and poor planning, and will be broken up on the spot - and damn soon!

[mylo]

Fantastic reporting.

Can't the British Gov

Fantastic reporting.

Can't the British Gov take on this historic treasure ? ....in the big scheme of things, it doesn't sound like much money....for a Government. ...they probably waste more than that in a day on paperclips.

Mylo

[davietait]

HAS BEEN SAVED !!!!

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liv ... -19361328/

Took them long enough !!!

[rick]

update from Sharkhunters

After apparent mis-handling of this situation by so many people in so many directions it appears that the boat will NOT be broken up for scrap after all. That is good news...........apparently.

It is reported that the boat was bought by Merseytravel, a local English transport consortium. The boat will be moved to the Woodside Ferry Terminal.............anyone old enough to remember "Ferry, Cross the Mersey" by Gary and the Pacemakers? Sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyhow, the U-Boat will make a trip on the Mersey Ferry an even more memorable experience for travelers, according to Neil Scales, Chief Executive for the Merseytravel Company.

On the one hand, it is great that this boat will not be broken up for scrap as earlier feared. On the other hand, she will be cut into three pieces to facilitate an easier move to the new location. We assume that she will be reassembled on site. There are also plans to provide a visitor's center with artifacts from the boat.

All things considered - we wonder if it would have been better back in 1991 if this submarine had just been left alone on the sea bottom rather than being yanked from her watery resting place to be used as a rich guy's toy. One can only wonder, and it appears that time will be the ultimate judge.

[rick]

the saga continues......

Riddle - we reported that U-534 was sold to the Mersey Transportation Company to be used as a museum at one terminal for the ferry cross the Mersey. It was reported to us that the boat was sold for two million British Pounds Sterling; then it was reported that the boat was more or less in effect given for the token payment of just ONE Pound Sterling. Now we are told that the sale really did not happen and that the fate of the boat is still in question......................but a group of four Germans is now interested in buying the boat. It is all very confusing and one of our Members in England is getting up an online petition that he intends to present to the British Government asking them to step in and prevent the boat from being cut up for any reason.
We are sending a copy of this email to the man who owns U-534 and asking him for a firm reply - "What is the fate of U-534? Is she sold? Going to be sold? Going to be cut up for scrap? What is the situation?" In advance, many thanks for your clear and honest answer.

[robse]

A little info..

The Danish guy (Who's name I'll keep out for now) spend app. 23.000.000,- Danish kroner / USD 3.900.000,- on the salvage.
The sub was believed to hold gold, Nazi tressure and blablabla.

The Danish guy is a huge investor, owns magasines, newspapers, active within motorsport, and much more.

Salvage photos can be seen at http://www.u534.coolfreepages.com/Basis_Frame.htm

[anonymous]

Hi All,


Speaking as part

Hi All,


Speaking as part of SubCommittee GB and living about 60 miles from the sub in Liverpool, I would be grateful for any more information / contact details etc for petitions etc.

Maybe we locals could help?

Davy