Over a week later Tronstad and his English bosses in London still seek
confirmation of exactly what went down with the ferry. Beyond assurances from
Norwegians who swore they saw the loading of heavy water into barrels at the
plant, confirmation was impossible, however, as the barrels now lay at the
bottom of Lake Tinn. After the war, Karl Wirtz, a German expert on heavy water,
claimed that German officals at Vemork had indeed put dummy barrels on the
ferry. Only the NOVA expedition in 2003 confirmed that the shipment did hold
the coveted compound after all.