Three Roman fleets have successively been wrecked…
243 BCE
Three Roman fleets have successively been wrecked by the elements, but the actions of Hamilcar, and his immunity to defeat, plus the stalemate at the siege of Lilybaeum, may have caused the desperate Romans to start building a new fleet of two hundred ships in 243 BCE.
The Roman Republic is broke and nearly exhausted and has to borrow money from wealthy citizens to fund the construction.