Shipwrecks
One for my fellow nerds...
One of my favourite things in the world to do is research shipwrecks. I think this stemmed from growing up my favourite movie was the Titanic . The most beautiful production i have ever watched with the most touching soundtrack. That being, when Rose lets go of Jack and he sinks and my eyes are literally streaming by this point every time screaming why? Because she was really just a rich hoe who didn't fancy sharing her space on the door with the 'love of her life' and literally pushed his frozen hand off hers and let him sink to his death. But yeah aside from that, The movie gets me so emotional every time. 'My heart will go on' starts playing and I'm belting out the chorus wiping the tears off my face as if i am some survivor from the wreckage. I actually said when i was younger i wanted that as my funeral song because it's so sad and i wanted everyone to cry and be depressed even more. Swear my Emo days still live on within me. So this is where my love of shipwrecks has grown from and become such a passion in my life now.
If i tell you some of the interesting discoveries and mysteries i know then maybe i can get you interested too! Like starting off with treasure hunting. You hear treasure hunting and you automatically think Pirates. You know, those peg legged, one eyed, hat wearing men that shout 'Arghh'. That's not what i mean. Although pirates are real but not how we imagine them from the Disney movies! Treasure hunters spend a lot of their time researching shipwrecks, as most all go down with millions worth of treasure on board. Now there are laws you are suppose to work by, when it comes to the law of the sea it's not 'finders keepers'.
Whether the treasure is gold coins found in a sunken ship or something washed ashore, what you are actually able to keep depends on where it's found and who it belongs too. The process is more 'Law and Order' than 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.
Cases of sunken treasure
Often deep ocean finds come from companies in the business of trolling the seas for sunken treasures.
U.S. salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration has discovered several shipwrecks.
In February 2009, they revealed that they'd found a shipwreck: a British warship that sank 264 years earlier during a storm. The company believes the 175-foot HMS Victory may have four tons of gold aboard.
Two years earlier, they uncovered a shipwreck in the Atlantic laden with 17 tonnes of gold and silver coins on board worth an estimated $500 million! The mystery ship, now known famously as "Black Swan," (my all time favourite!) is believed to be the Spanish galleon 'Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes y las Animas', which sank just off Portugal.
The Spanish government is suing Odyssey, the company who found the wreck, to claim the new found treasure, arguing it never abandoned the shipwreck. The case is still pending.
The British government has yet to indicate what action it might take on HMS Victory, but Odyssey says it's negotiating with the government about collaborating on the project.
Location, location, location
Important to both of Odyssey's claims will be where the shipwreck was found. With the 2009 discovery, Odyssey claims it was between 40 and 64 kilometres from England's coast, putting it outside territorial waters. Odyssey still hasn't revealed where it found "Black Swan." Which is why the case is still pending. Whether the find lies within a country's territorial waters is a vital consideration in any treasure-hunting case.
Dishonest conduct forfeits all
A common misconception is that treasure hunters can keep their discoveries found at sea. But under international law, anyone who finds a wreck must report it. Hiding a shipwreck or its cargo is a criminal offence.
The 1989 International Convention on Salvage says the treasure hunter may be deprived of the whole or part of the payment due if they has been guilty of fraud or other dishonest conduct."
"Dishonest conduct" isn't clearly defined.
"If one commits fraud, that is dishonesty with intention to deceive, then you become disentitled to whatever you'd otherwise be able to get," Moreira says.
If the find lies in international waters, however, and there's no one to claim ownership, the finder is probably in the clear.
So even though you may discover a shipwreck and find a cargo that may hold millions worth of gold, the only way around this illegally to have your payday would be selling it onto somewhere like 'the black market'. (I am not encouraging this!) Because many embassies will try to claim the find back and use it in their museums and give you a cut price for it. There are over 40,000 shipwrecks still waiting to be discovered along the British coast alone, One being the 'Royal Charter' in wales. This is another of my favourite wrecks as it is literally 5 metres from the shore! It sounds ridiculous how nobody has been able to get to it but with the stormy weathers, the sea is never calm and therefor the sand is shifting daily covering and uncovering the ships iron bulkheads, plates and ribs. It is estimated £150million went down with the ship but only so far gold sovereigns, pistols, glasses and other personal items have been found by scuba divers by chance over the years. But the luckiest find to date has been Vincent Thurkettle, in 2012 he found the biggest golden nugget known to Britain. This was part of the treasure sunken with the Royal Charter and he kept his find a secret for over 4 years while he continued his search for other debris from the wreck. He found the nugget 5 metres deep and 5 metres away from the shore! Now considering he found the nugget around 40 metres where the wreck would have been, he had to notify the receiver of the wreck, who then took possession of it on behalf of the crown. Lets just hope he got a finders fee because i haven't read that he did!
I honestly want to go and find this shipwreck as it is quite local to me and with it being so close to the shore but i know there are many dangers that come with it. And the fact i can't really swim probably cuts my chances down by 95% lol.
Have i got you interested in shipwrecks yet?
One of my favourite things in the world to do is research shipwrecks. I think this stemmed from growing up my favourite movie was the Titanic . The most beautiful production i have ever watched with the most touching soundtrack. That being, when Rose lets go of Jack and he sinks and my eyes are literally streaming by this point every time screaming why? Because she was really just a rich hoe who didn't fancy sharing her space on the door with the 'love of her life' and literally pushed his frozen hand off hers and let him sink to his death. But yeah aside from that, The movie gets me so emotional every time. 'My heart will go on' starts playing and I'm belting out the chorus wiping the tears off my face as if i am some survivor from the wreckage. I actually said when i was younger i wanted that as my funeral song because it's so sad and i wanted everyone to cry and be depressed even more. Swear my Emo days still live on within me. So this is where my love of shipwrecks has grown from and become such a passion in my life now.
If i tell you some of the interesting discoveries and mysteries i know then maybe i can get you interested too! Like starting off with treasure hunting. You hear treasure hunting and you automatically think Pirates. You know, those peg legged, one eyed, hat wearing men that shout 'Arghh'. That's not what i mean. Although pirates are real but not how we imagine them from the Disney movies! Treasure hunters spend a lot of their time researching shipwrecks, as most all go down with millions worth of treasure on board. Now there are laws you are suppose to work by, when it comes to the law of the sea it's not 'finders keepers'.
Whether the treasure is gold coins found in a sunken ship or something washed ashore, what you are actually able to keep depends on where it's found and who it belongs too. The process is more 'Law and Order' than 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.
Cases of sunken treasure
Often deep ocean finds come from companies in the business of trolling the seas for sunken treasures.
U.S. salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration has discovered several shipwrecks.
In February 2009, they revealed that they'd found a shipwreck: a British warship that sank 264 years earlier during a storm. The company believes the 175-foot HMS Victory may have four tons of gold aboard.
Two years earlier, they uncovered a shipwreck in the Atlantic laden with 17 tonnes of gold and silver coins on board worth an estimated $500 million! The mystery ship, now known famously as "Black Swan," (my all time favourite!) is believed to be the Spanish galleon 'Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes y las Animas', which sank just off Portugal.
The Spanish government is suing Odyssey, the company who found the wreck, to claim the new found treasure, arguing it never abandoned the shipwreck. The case is still pending.
The British government has yet to indicate what action it might take on HMS Victory, but Odyssey says it's negotiating with the government about collaborating on the project.
Location, location, location
Important to both of Odyssey's claims will be where the shipwreck was found. With the 2009 discovery, Odyssey claims it was between 40 and 64 kilometres from England's coast, putting it outside territorial waters. Odyssey still hasn't revealed where it found "Black Swan." Which is why the case is still pending. Whether the find lies within a country's territorial waters is a vital consideration in any treasure-hunting case.
Dishonest conduct forfeits all
A common misconception is that treasure hunters can keep their discoveries found at sea. But under international law, anyone who finds a wreck must report it. Hiding a shipwreck or its cargo is a criminal offence.
The 1989 International Convention on Salvage says the treasure hunter may be deprived of the whole or part of the payment due if they has been guilty of fraud or other dishonest conduct."
"Dishonest conduct" isn't clearly defined.
"If one commits fraud, that is dishonesty with intention to deceive, then you become disentitled to whatever you'd otherwise be able to get," Moreira says.
If the find lies in international waters, however, and there's no one to claim ownership, the finder is probably in the clear.
So even though you may discover a shipwreck and find a cargo that may hold millions worth of gold, the only way around this illegally to have your payday would be selling it onto somewhere like 'the black market'. (I am not encouraging this!) Because many embassies will try to claim the find back and use it in their museums and give you a cut price for it. There are over 40,000 shipwrecks still waiting to be discovered along the British coast alone, One being the 'Royal Charter' in wales. This is another of my favourite wrecks as it is literally 5 metres from the shore! It sounds ridiculous how nobody has been able to get to it but with the stormy weathers, the sea is never calm and therefor the sand is shifting daily covering and uncovering the ships iron bulkheads, plates and ribs. It is estimated £150million went down with the ship but only so far gold sovereigns, pistols, glasses and other personal items have been found by scuba divers by chance over the years. But the luckiest find to date has been Vincent Thurkettle, in 2012 he found the biggest golden nugget known to Britain. This was part of the treasure sunken with the Royal Charter and he kept his find a secret for over 4 years while he continued his search for other debris from the wreck. He found the nugget 5 metres deep and 5 metres away from the shore! Now considering he found the nugget around 40 metres where the wreck would have been, he had to notify the receiver of the wreck, who then took possession of it on behalf of the crown. Lets just hope he got a finders fee because i haven't read that he did!
I honestly want to go and find this shipwreck as it is quite local to me and with it being so close to the shore but i know there are many dangers that come with it. And the fact i can't really swim probably cuts my chances down by 95% lol.
Have i got you interested in shipwrecks yet?
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