A lot of things that the CIA does and has done in the past remain secret or even “unknown” and for good reason. Some of these “things” are pretty amazing — hopefully, a lot of them will never be revealed.
Then again, some things are inadvertently exposed — to at least some extent. One of the truly remarkable stories that became “public” a few years ago is that of the Glomar Explorer — an “underseas mining” ship. You can check the Internet or old newspapers for more details, but briefly the story is this….
In 1968 a Russian Submarine sank due to some kind of on-board explosion. Since the Russians apparently didn’t know the location of the sunken sub, the CIA decided to recover the vessel. The problems that had to be overcome probably number in the hundreds, if not thousands. No one had ever attempted anything like this — considering the size and weight of the sub and the incredible depth where it came to rest made recovery seem impossible. A special ship had to be constructed to attempt the “impossible.”
It took several years to build such a ship and of course because of the size, it couldn’t be built in someone’s basement. So the agency needed a smokescreen, or “cover” and they pretended to be exploring the possibility of deep sea mining. A huge campaign was publicized that indicated the project was to recover manganese nodules from the ocean floor. Because this was obviously an expensive undertaking, CIA needed a frontman — someone rich (and eccentric) enough to make the story plausible. The reclusive billionaire inventor Howard Hughes agreed to play the role.
A unique ship was designed using his name — the Hughes Glomar Explorer. Publicly, it was fitted with everything needed to dig up the seabed. But covertly, the ship was also built with ingenious devices — think about things you might see in a James Bond film.
The undersea mining cover was so good that it prompted US universities to start courses in deep sea mining and it raised the share prices of the companies involved. The revelation that the deep sea mining project was a fake was a sudden shock to other mining companies — and — to diplomats at the UN who were in the middle of negotiating future rights to ocean minerals.
Now the sad part — After twenty years in mothballs, Global Marine (the term Glomar came from Global Marine) that has since been acquired by an offshore drilling corporation, Transoceanic, leased the Glomar Explorer and gave it a $180 million makeover to convert the Glomar into an oil drilling ship. From 1998 through 2013, the Explorer enjoyed a second career as a deep sea drilling ship. However, because of declining petroleum prices and competition from on-shore production, the ship was taken out of service.
Transoceanic announced in 2015 that the Glomar Explorer would be scrapped. That’s a shame, if for no other reason than its amazing history. But additionally, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers had designated the technologically remarkable ship a historic mechanical engineering landmark.
I guess all good things have to come to an end — it’s just too bad the old lady’s legacy had to end that way… may she Rest In Peace.
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