Champagne galore! Shipwreck gives Polish divers something to celebrate

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish divers have found a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden laden with bottles of champagne, a "very exclusive" cargo they say may have been destined for the tsar of Russia before the vessel sank.

They discovered the wreck, which also contains porcelain and bottles of mineral water, around 60 metres (66 yards) below the surface of the Baltic Sea, but say they would need permission from Swedish authorities to bring the cargo to shore.

"This ship is almost whole there, it is not destroyed much, only the bow was a bit damaged," said Marek Cacaj from the Baltictech diving group.

"In the beginning, we didn't pay attention to the load of this ship, we just went around it. But then we noticed many bottles, firstly the bottles of champagne."

Cacaj said the divers had identified the brand of champagne, which he described as "very exclusive".

"Most likely, this champagne belonged to the tsar, so the load was meant to go to Russia, which could really increase its value a lot," he said.

"We also know, because we are in touch with the producer of this champagne, that there was a champagne produced specifically for the tsar that was sweeter, just for him."

If the divers get permission to remove some bottles, Cacaj said, they will send them to the manufacturer to ascertain how much they might now be worth and whether they are still drinkable.

However, it is not only the champagne that would have been valuable to people at the time, as mineral water was highly prized for its reputed medicinal qualities.

"We need to remember that in those times... mineral water was a very precious load," Cacaj said. "It was often escorted by police or the army."

(Reporting by Malgorzata Wojtunik and Anna Lubowicka, writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Gareth Jones)