To carry out the salvage operation, a naval party was encamped for nearly a year in a village of wood and grass huts on the island, enduring harsh life under tropical skies. The retrieval began soon after the sinking and a high proportion of the cargo was recovered. A net was stretched across the 480-foot entrance to the cove to prevent the cargo being washed away. Diving bells were constructed out of water tanks and with these suspended – first from a derrick and later from a cable stretched across the cove – the salvage operation was commenced in the very cold waters.

This painting shows the salvage team in operation in flat calm conditions. The complex system of cables is carefully delineated and in the centre a platform is visible with steep steps cut into the rock from the top of the cliff. Another set of steps to the right wind precariously down to the water's edge. A number of figures are busy on top of the cliff, on the rocks and on boats in the cove. On one level the paintings celebrate the triumph of man against the elements in an alien environment, yet also show the risks involved in retrieving a valuable cargo. The place is now called Thetis Cove.