The Merryweather Heist is a storyline mission in GTA 5 that includes all three protagonists. This heist is planned by Trevor after he learns that Floyd works at the docks. There are two approaches to the heist which have to be chosen by Trevor in the mission Scouting The Port. The two approaches are the Offshore approach and the Freighter approach.
Both the approaches begin at Floyd’s apartment in Los Santos where Trevor explains, in brief, to Michael De Santa and Franklin Clinton what they’ll be doing. After they leave the apartment, both approaches have different scenarios.
There is a unique cutscene in Floyd’s apartment for this approach. After that Trevor leaves with Franklin, he takes him to the vantage point on the bridge from where he can stealthily cover Michael with a Sniper. Michael is given a wet suit as he has to plant four charges on the Freighter ship and get away from the ship.
Franklin takes out the guards after which Michael gets on to the ship and does his job of planting the charges. Franklin continues to provide Michael with cover fire taking out the guards who are after Michael, one by one. When Micahel is at a secure spot, Franklin sets off the charges using his phone.
Once the cargo ship sinks into the water Michael has to dive into the water and locate the device for Trevor to arrive with the submersible stolen earlier in the preparation mission. Trevor drives the submarine to the location where Michael is waiting with the device underwater and picks it up. In the cutscene after the device is retrieved successfully, the submersible with the device attached to it is seen on a truck driven by Floyd where Michael and Franklin are surprised to see Lester who has just arrived at the scene.
Lester explains to them how they have made a mistake by stealing a super weapon and that they’ll all now become targets on every wanted list. Trevor gets furious and refuses to return it but Michael convinces him and they let Lester return it.
For this approach along with the Submersible preparation mission there is an additional setup mission “Cargobob” in which Trevor retrieves the Cargobob from the military base. There is a unique cutscene in Floyd’s apartment for this approach.
After leaving Floyd’s apartment, all three protagonists drive to Sandy Shores airfield. Michael and Franklin are heard complaining about travelling such a long distance on the way. When they arrive at the airfield, Michael and Franklin enter the Cargobob with Michael flying. They are instructed by Trevor to attach the submersible to the cargobob and fly out to the Pacific Ocean, a little west to Paleto Cove, where the device to be retrieved is underwater.
The submersible is dropped into the water with Trevor in it. Trevor has to then locate the device using the Trackify app on his phone and retrieve the device which automatically gets attached to the submersible. The Cargobob with Michael and Franklin lifts Trevor and the submersible and starts their journey back to Sandy Shores airfield when they are attacked by the Merryweather guards. Franklin has to take out the boats and helicopters with a machine gun in the Cargobob. They can be outrun or taken out.
Once they’re back at Sandy Shores airfield, the trio find Lester there who has just arrived at the scene. He explains to them how they have made a mistake by stealing a super weapon and that they’ll all now become targets on every wanted list. Trevor gets furious and is convinced by Michael to return it.
| Name of Mission | The Merryweather Heist |
| Protagonist(s) | Trevor Philips Michael De Santa Franklin Clinton |
| Location | Floyd's Apartment (Start) SS Bulker Pier 400 (End) (Freighter) Sandy Shores Airfield (End) (Offshore) |
| Target | Freighter Approach - The Device on the freighter ship. Offshore Approach - The Device at the bottom of the ocean, west of Paleto Cove. |
| Time of the Day | In-game time |
Get in a vehicle. (Trevor)
Drive to the bridge. (Trevor)
Go to the vantage point. (Franklin)
Protect Michael as he plants the bombs. (Franklin)
Plant the first bomb at the bow pillar. (Michael)
Plant the second bomb at the first mast. (Michael)
Plant the third bomb at the second mast. (Michael)
Go to the ship's stern entrance. (Michael)
Detonate the bombs. (Franklin)
Locate the device amongst the wreckage. (Michael)
Go to the device. (Trevor)
Return the device to the safe area. (Trevor)
Find a four-seater vehicle. (Michael)
Drive to the airstrip. (Michael)
Get in the Cargobob. (Michael)
Use the grappling hook to pick up the submersible. (Michael)
Fly to the test site. (Michael)
Release the submersible near the test site. (Michael)
Use the Trackify app to locate the device. (Trevor)
Go to the device. (Trevor)
Ascend to the surface level. (Trevor)
Pick up the submersible. (Michael)
Fly to the airstrip. (Michael)
Defend against the oncoming attack from Merryweather. (Franklin)
Change your position to the rear of the Cargobob. (Franklin)
Fly to the airstrip. (Michael)
Fly low over the airstrip and release the submersible. (Michael)
Headshots - Kill 12 enemies with a headshot
Accuracy - Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 80%
Ninja - Kill 12 enemies using stealth attacks
No Alarms - Get to the ship interior without being detected
Container Hunter - Find the container within 60 seconds
Salvager - Find the container within 02:00
Time - Complete within 14:30
Show no Mercenary - Eliminate all pursuing Merryweather enemies
Weathering the Storm - Escape the pursuing Merryweather enemies in less than 4 minutes.
In both approaches, multiple Merryweather guards are killed by Franklin. He uses a machine gun to take out boats and helicopters in the Offshore approach and a Sniper with a thermal scope in the Freighter approach.
In the Freighter approach, the Freighter ship is destroyed by the charges planted by Michael.
Subversive Achievement
After this mission Trevor receives a call from Elwood O’Neil who threatens him for killing his brothers and burning down his farmhouse. Franklin is given a mission by Lester and later the trio are called by Steve Haines and Dave Norton for another assignment.
The heist was originally going to be called "The Port of LS Heist", hinting that the canon approach is the Freighter approach since it takes place at the Port as well.
If the freight method is chosen and the mission Hood Safari has been completed previously to this mission, Trevor and Franklin will mention the events of that mission on the way to the bridge.
During the ending scene of the freighter approach, Lester can be seen arriving at the pier in a Taxi in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 versions of the game. In the enhanced version, however, the Taxi is nowhere to be seen.
If the offshore method was chosen, after the mission ends, the Submersible will always spawn in a small courtyard by the side of the warehouse in the Sandy Shores Airfield permanently. The player will need a Cargobob to take the submarine back to water so it can be used
This is the only heist in GTA V that doesn't have law enforcement involved in the heist.
A. The device stolen is actually worth $20,000,000 but due to Lester’s warning no money is earned from this heist.
A. Both approaches lead to the same outcome, however the Freighter approach has been confirmed to be the canon approach for this heist.
A. The Merryweather heist can be done in two ways which has to be decided in the mission Scouting the Port by Trevor Philips. After completing the setup missions. Follow the mission objectives listed above on this page during the main heist to complete the mission.
All Issues
