Piracy is alive and well on the north Donegal coast, it emerged last week after renegade divers went treasurehunting on the wreck of the Laurentic.
Their aim was to open the safe lying 40 metres underwater that may contain up to 20 gold bars and silver coins worth millions.
The long-lost ship's safe was located last autumn by divers led by Don McGlinchey from Derry. They were diving on the wreck with the permission of Mr Ray Cossum, who owns the rights to it.
Mr McGlinchey and his team dived on Sunday, May 6th, to clear debris from around the safe to prepare for lifting and left a buoy to mark the spot.
When they returned to the site on Monday, they discovered the renegade divers had been down and attempted to open the safe.
The matter was reported to gardai in Buncrana.
On the same Sunday, TG4 broadcast Eire Fo Thuinn, filmed underwater, showing the finding of the safe among the tangled wreckage of the once-mighty liner.
The Laurentic sank on January 25th, 1917, after it struck a floating mine 2-1/2 miles north of Fanad Head. It was carrying in its hold gold bars which were then valued at £5 million.
The White Star-owned liner, en route to Nova Scotia, also carried silver coins worth £2 million. The gold and silver were to pay for arms in the US.
A seven-year salvage operation by the British navy during the 1920s recovered 3,186 of the 3,211 gold bars on board. A further five were recovered by enterprising divers over a three-year period during the 1930s. As they were lifting the safe on to their barge, the line broke and the safe fell to the bottom.
The divers spent months looking for it but it was not found again until last September during the TG4 filming.
Mr Michael Loftus of the Irish Underwater Council said Mr Cossum ha now banned other divers from the wreck. He purchased the rights to the wreck in 1969 from the Ministry of Defence.
When the safe is raised in the coming weeks it will be given to Mr Cossum, who has searched for the Laurentic's missing treasure for the last 30 years.
Last weekend Mr McGlinchey and his team brought equipment down to prepare to lift the safe.
The divers can spend only a short time working at the wreck because it is 40 metres below the surface.
"There is a small bit of clearing to be done around the safe, and we need to bring cutting equipment down. The safe is partially opened, and you can just see a bit of silt inside that appears to be resting on top of stuff," Mr Loftus said.
The gold and silver belong to the Ministry of Defence. However, if they are recovered, a percentage sum will be paid to Mr Cossum.