The salvage operation had been a complete failure. The small ship, Elkor, which had been searching the Barents Sea for weeks, was on its way home. A radio message from the mainland had been received by the ship's captain instructing him to give up the search. The captain knew that another attempt would be made later, for the sunken ship he was trying to find had been carrying a precious cargo of gold bullion.
Nevertheless, he was still unwilling to leave the area. 'I'll give it another day or two,' he said to his officers. 'We may as well start looking again. There's still a faint chance that we may find it. It's true that we've been unlucky so far, but we mustn't give up hope.'
Just as the captain was speaking, a large fish, which was almost as long as the ship itself, swam swiftly under the ship and struck it with great force. The ship shook violently and there was a loud explosion. Water flooded into the engine room and the ship sank quickly, with all hands. The captain and his officers were not the only victims. Many of the crew also lost their lives. The few survivors swam as far as they could from the sinking ship until they were picked up by a passing ship.
The Elkor's captain and his officers were taken to a nearby port. From there, they were flown back to their own country. A court of inquiry was held. The captain was blamed for the loss of the ship and for the deaths of the crew. He was found guilty and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. The ship's owners were also held responsible for the accident. They were ordered to pay a large sum of money in compensation.
The Elkor was a small ship, but it was carrying a very valuable cargo. It was not surprising that the search for it had been so difficult. The Barents Sea is a very large and stormy area. The ship had been missing for weeks before the Elkor started its search. It had been sailing in a remote part of the sea when it disappeared. There had been no sign of a struggle or of any damage to the ship before it sank. It was as if the ship had simply vanished into thin air.
The Elkor's search had been thorough. The ship had covered a large area of the sea. It had used the latest equipment. The captain had been experienced and determined. But in spite of all these things, the search had been a failure. It was a sad end to a long and difficult search.