A link I found - good reading

[99*]

http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/tools/laws/ASA.htm


There is the link, worth a read. 99*

[mariner]

You should remember that for the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act to apply, a wreck has to be legally "abandoned". The current Federal Court stance in the USA is that for Spanish ships in US waters, abandonment cannot be inferred just because the owner has not done anything about recovering the wreck. There must be an act or statement of specific abandonment, otherwise the wreck is not abandoned, and therefore does not come under the 1987 ASA. Although Florida, for example, will not specifically say so, this ruling means that title and management of Spanish wrecks in Florida waters does not devolve to the State, but remain the property of the original owners, or their rightful successors, and are subject to Federal legal management. When I asked Florida if they were going to change their statutes to reflect this, they said that they did not intend to change them, but that is because they already preface the appropriate statutes with references to "abandoned shipwrecks". I am still waiting to see what happens next time anybody applies for a salvage permit to the State of Florida for a Spanish wreck in their territorial waters. I do not think Florida has the authority to issue such a permit these days. That is not to say that the rightful owner of the wreck would not have to obtain an archaeological permit, as almost any excavation of a shipwreck would involve disturbing the Ocean bed, which is the property of the State.

Mariner

[Chagy]

Mariner,

Correct me if I am wrong, Now days you can get a search permit but not a salvage permit.

Best,

Chagy..........