Laws requarding Florida

[JvilleHunter]

Ya know, im not a treasure hunter by any sense other than a good ole metal detector on the beach, but after reading a few articles on here concerning ownership rights of wrecked vessels, i really lost. Am I right to read that any spanish vessel off the coast of Florida (even in Florida's waters) are the property rigths of Spain? Who let this happen? Maybe I missed it but has Spain ever been over here spending millions to research and recover anything in Florida waters? I just read an article about a huge company that acidentally found a wreck(not looking for it) and handed it over to the goverment where it laid in their waters. From what I read, it was a spanish wreck. And, that goverment is keeping it and spain knows it. Why is the state of Florida such a wuss? I'll bet you someone(s) are making some serious money on this. Why can't there be some legislation started that does the right thing...if Spain wants it, get their butts over here and try to find it....right along side the same guys on this board that are spending loads of money and time trying to find the same thing. It really pathetic that the lawmakers don't do the right thing. I guess thats why we have the problems we do....truely pathetic. Sorry if my info is incorrect, it's just when I read and understood what I thought I understood, it made me sick. Just ranting...

BTW...IMO...treasures will be found, no doubt. But all this does is promote pirating, ransacking, and illegal recoveries. It really is a shame..

JvilleHunter

 

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[wreckdiver1715]

Jvillehunter, welcome aboard TreasureNet. You have asked some heavy questions, that there are no really easy answers for. The issue is complex, and involves International Maritime law, US Federal law, and Florida state law, oh and lets not forget the the good ol UN and the UNESCO Convention.

"Am I right to read that any spanish vessel off the coast of Florida (even in Florida's waters) are the property rigths of Spain?" - No, that is not correct. This only applies to ships of the Spanish Navy, and does not include Spanish ships privately owned but under contract with the Spanish government at the time of the sinking.

"Why is the state of Florida such a wuss?" - LOL, I don't know, but I am sure that it has something to do with the State Department of Historic Resources.

a couple of links to get you going...
http://www.nps.gov/history/archeology/submerged/Intro.htm
http://www.miamimaritimelaw.com/index.htm

This subject always gets some good debate going, and we do have some lawyer types that are members in good standing.

Tom

 

[ivan salis]

Humm the vessel you speak of was "most likely either portugese or spanish merchant / transport vessel "---the one found in Nigeria most likely I bet --- the gas and oil company that found it -- had very little choice but to "fork it over " to the local govt -- as they need their "blessing" to keep working in their oil feilds -- the country is well known for a few high ranking folks at the top of a massively corrupt govt stealing all the oil wealth from the country while the bulk of its people nearly starve to death --( the govt "goon squad" troops will shoot anyone who "protests" publicly right on the spot -- bang thats it --- and they will tell "foreign govts" --its our country --cause a problem and terrorist "might" attack your diplomats before we can "stop" them and that they might "bar" them from doing any oil bussiness in "their country"--so the "foreigners" shut up and look the other way--only the locals working in the oil bussiness do well at all and they are woefully underpaid according to international standards --- the Nigerian "strongmen" ain't give up squat in "their" waters to spain without an heavily armed spanish naval vessel taking it at gun point .

funny thing -- when the USA BOUGHT florida from spain FOR 5 MILLION DOLLARS it included a clause that the king of spain turned over to the USA everything he and spain normally had any claim to as far as florida went -- (the coast waters of florida and control of them would have been a part of the "deal" since spain claimed the coastal waters as theirs-- thus it would included the sea beds and anything "imbedded" within it --in other word spain "sold" their rights to florida's coastal waters and sea bed and whatever was "imbedded in it" when they sold florida to the USA in 1819 / 1820 --and the USA govt later on via the abandoned shipwreck act gave the wrecks in the coastal waters to the state of florida -- thus spain should have no claim whatsoever other than for straight military only warship type vessels -- which frankly they could careless about --they are only interested in the "money"-- treasure vessels

 

[Salvor6]

Ivan, you are so right. I was in Nigeria a few years ago and the government is not concerned whatsoever with cultural patrimony. They are so corrupt that they grab anything they can get. You can keep any cultural artifacts you find if you pay "dash". Thats local talk for a payoff.