Up to a billion dollars worth of gold and silver on a sunken 17th-century English warship may soon be recovered.

Professional marine treasure hunters working with the British government have reportedly been given the go-ahead to recover gold and silver pieces from what is thought to be the wreck of the HMS Sussex, which took 560 sailors to a watery grave off Gibraltar in 1694.

Although the Spanish government had given its approval, until Friday the regional government of Andalucia had been blocking progress towards recovering the 10 tonnes of gold and silver believed to have gone down with the vessel.

An American ship, belonging to Florida-based Odyssey Marine exploration company, has been scanning the sea bed off Gibraltar for almost a decade. The 1,000 square kilometers of Mediterranean sea bed have turned up dozens of ancient wrecks.

But one in particular, lying 760 metres down, is thought to be the HMS Sussex. The 80-gun warship had sunk while on a secret mission, supposedly laden with gold and silver.

"Historical records suggest a million pounds sterling was on board," said Odyssey Marine.

In mid-February 1694, after a stop-off in Gibraltar, the Sussex found itself caught in a terrible storm, eventually having to cut down its main mast to increase stability.

But, according to the only two survivors, the mast smashed to pieces while the vessel drifted, took on water and, eventually, plunged to the bottom of the ocean. Some 560 Sussex crew died that night.

Source: China Daily/agencies