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News
September 04, 2010
Representatives of the Varyag Cruiser Charity Fund Established by METROPOL Group are Included in International Expert Group to Raise the Frau Maria Shipwreck
On September 2, 2010, the site of discovery of the Frau Maria
near the Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea was visited by an
international expert group including Head of the Department for
Preservation of Cultural Values of the Federal Service for Cultural
Heritage Protection V.V. Petrakov, President of the Charity Fund
Salvation of National Cultural and Historical Values A.M.Tarasov,
representatives of the Varyag Cruiser Charity Fund and the Embassy
of the Russian Federation in Finland, Finnish officials,
vessel-raising experts, environmentalists, etc. The purpose of the
visit was to sum up the results of research and negotiations
regarding the raising of the Frau Maria.
The delegation inspected the Frau Maria discovery site marked by
four white buoys on the sea surface. Representatives of the Finnish
side dwelt on ensuring 24-hour protection of the relic by movement
radars. Local environmentalists analyzed possible damage that may
be caused to the environment by the lifting of the ship.
The expert group members visited a unique research vessel specially
equipped for hours-long operations in deep waters. They were shown
samples of the ship’s wooden shell that Finnish divers had managed
to lift earlier, as well as underwater video recordings made by the
Loxus device. According to the Finnish side, the Frau Maria is in
an excellent condition due to exceptional physical and chemical
property of the Baltic water (low salt content and low
temperatures).
As the representatives of the Russian side underlined, they fully
realize that further decisions will be difficult to take and
expressed their hope that the Russian-Finnish dialogue will be
efficient, and the ship raising operations will start as early as
in the next years. А.М. Tarasov made a special focus on the
readiness of METROPOL Group and the Varyag Cruiser Charity Fund to
render all possible organizational and financial support to the
Frau Maria lifting operations and the recovery of artistic
masterpieces kept on board.
For reference
The Dutch merchant ship Frau Maria, which sank in 1771, was
discovered in Finland’s territorial waters in 1999. The Russian
side initiated some archives studies and revealed that the Frau
Maria contained in its hold the works of art purchased at an
auction in Holland in 1771 for Catherine the Great.
Twenty seven paintings by outstanding 16th- and 17th-century Dutch
artists, including Rembrandt, were preliminary identified and
evaluated by museum experts at the amount of at least 500 million
euros. In April 2007, the Federal Service for Cultural Heritage
Protection and the Foreign Ministry of Russia were appointed the
executives of a commission by the Russian Government on raising the
Frau Maria. In 2007 and 2008, a work group was established to make
preparations for the project implementation, comprised of
representatives of charity funds, fine art restorers, underwater
and diving operators.
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