Man Who ‘Always Fancied’ Owning a Shipwreck Buys One on Facebook Marketplace for $400 Hobbyist diver Dom Robinson jumped at the chance to purchase the S.S. “Almond Branch,” a cargo ship that’s been resting 190 feet beneath the surface of the English Channel since World War I The S.S. Almond Branch was torpedoed by a German submarine during World War I. Dom Robinson Hobbyist diver Dom Robinson has spent the past three decades exploring shipwrecks, which have fascinated him since childhood. So when he recently spotted one for sale on Facebook Marketplace, he jumped at the chance to purchase a piece of history. Now, Robinson is the proud owner of the S.S. Almond Branch, a roughly 330-foot-long cargo ship that sank during World War I. It’s submerged off the coast of Cornwall, England, 190 feet beneath the surface of the English Channel. Robinson, a 53-year-old project manager from Plymouth, bought the vessel for about $400 (£300). He doesn’t expect to find any valuable treasures onboard, so “the only real reason to buy it is for bragging rights,” he tells CornwallLive’s Kirstie McCrum. The vessel was a British merchant ship that was equipped with weapons. Rick Ayrton Built in 1896, the Almond Branch was a British merchant ship that was equipped with weapons for protection. In November 1917, the vessel was sailing near Dodman Point when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. One person died in the attack, according to Robinson. After the war, the British government processed an insurance claim for the sunken ship and became its owner. Then, in a bid to recoup some of its losses, the government sold the vessel to a private owner in 1978. I bought a SHIPWRECK on Facebook Marketplace Watch on Nearly 50 years later, the owner decided to part ways with the historic ship. Robinson, who had already dived the wreck, snapped it up. In the United Kingdom, “it’s possible for private individuals to buy and sell [shipwrecks], and I’ve always fancied owning one,” he says in a video on his YouTube channel, Deep Wreck Diver. “So when I saw this advert on Facebook Marketplace, I knew that this was my opportunity.” Robinson has been interested in shipwrecks since childhood. Dom Robinson According to BBC News’ Jonathan Morris, the transaction was approved by the Receiver of Wreck, a government official who manages “voluntary salvage wreck material” across the U.K. Once the deal was done, Robinson was eager to revisit the Almond Branch. He braved the chilly January weather to dive the wreck with a few friends. “I can go down and do something that I think is pretty extraordinary,” Robinson tells the London Times’ Christian Oliver. “It’s still a pile of rusting iron, but you’re swimming around a pile of rusting iron and going: ‘Yeah, this is my pile of rusting iron!’” The vessel is submerged 190 feet deep in the English Channel. Rick Ayrton Robinson may be thrilled. But his wife was less than enthused about the purchase. “She said, ‘What a waste of money—I just hope he doesn’t bring it up and put it in the garden,’” he tells CornwallLive. Robinson hopes the find the ship's bell. Rick Ayrton Though Robinson now owns the wreck, he says anyone is free to dive it. But if someone finds the ship’s bell, Robinson tells BBC News he’d like to keep it. He’s also curious about the vessel’s gun, which is missing from its gun mount. Over the course of his diving career, Robinson has discovered more than 20 shipwrecks—including three Royal Navy ships—by scanning the seabed and exploring any anomalies. “Each shipwreck has got a story associated with it,” he tells the Telegraph’s Natasha Leake. “That’s something I find particularly rewarding.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.