Moscow lays claim to 18th century shipwreck treasures...

[jeff k]

This is a big surprise.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907...20100907170445

[capt dom]

Captain Dominic reflects a second ago:

The rats are guarding the cheese!

Governments using logic based upon the War Graves Acts is just another step in the bull crap of various nations using twisted, "bottom feeding" lawyers - turned administrators to lay claim to items of value - or even worse, to run up legal bills against their proposed value, from those who expend the risk and effort to recover them from beneath the seas. Hegel had it right... Free enterprise is becoming "state capitalism or even worse - fascism! Nobody who finds anything will report it in the future - if only to have some guys with "big guns" to come and take it away from them!

All of you out there should spend some time explaining this to your friends and acquaintances
or we will be....
Welcoming to a new "dark age" folks....

[Kut2TheChase]

"Unless the ship is abandoned" - So what determines if a country or owner has abandoned a vessel?
Also, wouldn't all vessels prior to this legislation be "grandfathered" in such as way as to state that before these laws they are all considered abandoned.
Seems illegal to try and claim vessels lost 300 years ago and say they didn't abandon them and site this law.
Of COURSE they abandoned them, when they left the sinking ship and no one came back to try and find them for over 200 years!
I would consider that abandoned.
A good lawyer could punch holes through this.
The diver and or salvors should get a large finders fee for such discovery and recoveries.

I'm sure that more history has actually been lost due to absurd "historical preservation acts", what an oxymoron.
Greedy state laws and lawyers who create laws and just have thier hands out for doing nothing, when will this be put in check and by whom?
We the people, by the people, for the people.

[wwwtimmcp]

some governments use the term "a total loss" meaning it is beyond them to salvage anything further from the shipwreck. this invites salvagers to salvage what they can.

[seadancer1]

So typical governments and state museums are legalised pirates in my opinnion!