The shipwreck and its contents were found by Odyssey Marine Exploration

[VOC]

AUVnav,

You seem to be ignoring the crucial words "if any"

GALT only get their % if there is any net proceeds left after recovery cost, This may include TV rights, display income and any fees paid by the foundation etc, etc, it could also include any coin or bullion that the foundation and their archaeological advisers in conjunction with the UK government decide to be of no or little archaeological interest that they may decide to pay OME with.

At present there is no plans for anything to be sold.

 

[AUVnav]

At present there is no plans for anything to be sold.

Again, VOC, you fail at reading the SEC documents.

Here is the GALT agreement as filed with the SEC. ODYSSEY/GALT RESOURCES SHIPWRECK PROJECT AGREEMENT

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 4%"]"3.[/TD]
[TD="align: left"]General Terms[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 4%"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 4%"]3.1.[/TD]
[TD="align: left"]Odyssey shall be responsible for all costs and expenses related to and incurred during the Project.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 4%"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 4%"]3.2.[/TD]
[TD="align: left"]Odyssey warrants that it will use its best efforts to recover and sell the artifacts and cargo from the Project"[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[VOC]

Yes you are correct except that is not the terms for the Victory project.

 

[AUVnav]

So the agreement states this...

In January 2012, Odyssey and Galt agreed to bifurcate Galt’s selection between two projects, the SS Gairsoppa and HMS Victory. Galt will receive 50% of Odyssey’s net proceeds, if any, on the SS Gairsoppa project until Galt receives two times its initial investment of $7,512,500. Galt will also receive 50% of Odyssey’s net proceeds, if any, on the HMS Victory project until Galt receives two times its initial investment and thereafter will receive 7.5125% of Odyssey’s net proceeds from the HMS Victory project.

and this, Odyssey warrants that it will use its best efforts to recover and sell the artifacts and cargo from the Project

Yet you somehow conclude there is no plan to sell artefacts?

What are the terms for the Victory Project?

 

[VOC]

The terms for any recovery or disposal on the Victory will be as the owners (British government) dictate.

This will be completely irrespective of any agreement OME has with any partner or investor, that is why the words "if any" is included.

OME if they get commissioned to carry out the archaeological excavation I presume they will use its "best efforts" to recover the artefacts and in the unlikely event that the British government and the foundation decided to pay them for the excavation in artefacts and/or cargo they would have to use their best efforts to sell them, but don’t forget that could include selling them to themselves for display or selling them to another museum etc.

I believe OME will do everything by the book on the Victory as they did on the Mercedes, you and many the purist archaeological community like to portray them as some sort of unethical salvors, but in the case of the Victory they could have "legally" just lifted everything and sailed away to a foreign land or just landed it all in the UK to the Receiver of Wrecks, and in the case of the Mercedes they could have legally just taken the Silver and sold it in some African country without any attempt to establish ownership etc. as both wrecks lay in international waters.

 

[AUVnav]

but in the case of the Victory they could have "legally" just lifted everything and sailed away to a foreign land or just landed it all in the UK to the Receiver of Wrecks

how could they 'legally' have done that? Sovereign wrecks are just that, no matter where located.

in the case of the Mercedes they could have legally just taken the Silver and sold it in some African country without any attempt to establish ownership etc. as both wrecks lay in international waters.

So as long as a sovereign wreck is in international waters, you feel they could legally sell it in some African Country?

I cant imagine why "you and many the purist archaeological community like to portray them as some sort of unethical salvors.."

 

[MORE AND BEYOND OSSY]

The terms for any recovery or disposal on the Victory will be as the owners (British government) dictate.

This will be completely irrespective of any agreement OME has with any partner or investor, that is why the words "if any" is included.

OME if they get commissioned to carry out the archaeological excavation I presume they will use its "best efforts" to recover the artefacts and in the unlikely event that the British government and the foundation decided to pay them for the excavation in artefacts and/or cargo they would have to use their best efforts to sell them, but don’t forget that could include selling them to themselves for display or selling them to another museum etc.

I believe OME will do everything by the book on the Victory as they did on the Mercedes, you and many the purist archaeological community like to portray them as some sort of unethical salvors, but in the case of the Victory they could have "legally" just lifted everything and sailed away to a foreign land or just landed it all in the UK to the Receiver of Wrecks, and in the case of the Mercedes they could have legally just taken the Silver and sold it in some African country without any attempt to establish ownership etc. as both wrecks lay in international waters.

OME did everything by the book with the Mercedes Yer right ! If you go under pirate rules. It's in your culture, you knight your Pirates, what can I say.
VOC if the Victory was found in international waters would it be fair game ?
So I can go salvage any royal navy ships at this site Battle of Cartagena de Indias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ossy

 

[VOC]

"if the Victory was found in international waters would it be fair game ?
So I can go salvage any royal navy ships at this site Battle of Cartagena de Indias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ossy"

The answer to the Victory is yes, OME could have just raised it all and if they landed it in the UK would have had 28 days to report it to the receiver of wrecks, but if they landed it all in a country that would acept it all there would be nothing the UK could have done. Same as if OME did not go through the US Courts to establish ownership they could have sold it at sea or landed it all in a dodgey African or other state and Spain could not have done anything about it.

MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT 1995
All wreck material which comes from UK territorial waters, and any wreck which is landed in the UK from outside UK territorial waters must by law (Section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995) be declared to the Receiver of Wreck.
Wreck is defined as anything which is found in or on the sea, or washed ashore from tidal water. All items which are raised, regardless of age or importance, must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck.
Finders who report their finds to the Receiver of Wreck have salvage rights. The Receiver of Wreck acts to settle questions of ownership and salvage.
This part of the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act is administered by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency through the Receiver of Wreck.

As for wrecks from the Battle of Cartagena, if outside territorial control, yes you can go and help yourself as they are doing here: Royal Naval Association (RNA) : Anger at Dutch salvage ships 'plundering ocean graves'

 

[MORE AND BEYOND OSSY]

[QUOTEVOC if the Victory was found in international waters would it be fair game ?
So I can go salvage any royal navy ships at this site Battle of Cartagena de Indias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ossy

The answer to the Victory is yes OME could have just raised it all and if they landed it in the UK would have had 28 days to report it to the receiver of wrecks.
MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT 1995
All wreck material which comes from UK territorial waters, and any wreck which is landed in the UK from outside UK territorial waters must by law (Section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995) be declared to the Receiver of Wreck.
Wreck is defined as anything which is found in or on the sea, or washed ashore from tidal water. All items which are raised, regardless of age or importance, must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck.
Finders who report their finds to the Receiver of Wreck have salvage rights. The Receiver of Wreck acts to settle questions of ownership and salvage.
This part of the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act is administered by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency through the Receiver of Wreck.

As for wrecks from the Battle of Cartagena, if outside territorial yes you can go and help yourself as they are doing here: Royal Naval Association (RNA) : Anger at Dutch salvage ships 'plundering ocean graves'[/QUOTE]
So much for sovereign vessels I believe in respect of any foreign vessel no mater were it sunk ! and the country that owns it should be given notification so they can determine if they want it salvaged or not !
Ossy

 

[AUVnav]

Actually, no, that is not correct. You can only bring up enough for identification. The owner then has the right to refuse further salvage. You may be allowed, IF the owner has expressly abandoned the property.

You cannot just cite one law, there are many overarching laws, especially when it comes to sovereign property.

Didnt you learn anything from the Mercedes? That wasnt only US law, that was International Law.

 

[VOC]

Who said you can only bring up enough for identification ?

You can bring up everything you find as long as you declare it in the country that you land it, and that is only if they have a law that requires you to do so.

If you take it to a country with no salvage or wreck law you can have the lot away.

OME did not commit a crime by recovering all the silver from the Mercedes, what they did was legal under International law and they voluntary declared it to a reputable court to establish ownership. As we know Spain was declared the probable owner, although the case was actually about Spain saying that the US court did not have the juristiction or legislation to hear the ownership case.

If they landed the coins in the UK, and ownership was declared to be Spain, they would have at least got a salvage award out of it.

The Victory is actually no different to the many wrecked HMS vessels that have been wrecked around the world that have been salvaged. It is only because OME is a responsible and reputable company that they contacted the owner on wreck location, they could have legally brought up all the guns without saying a word.

The laws only apply when you bring the stuff into a territorial jurisdiction.

Restriction on any recovery can only be made if a specific protection order is made to a particular wreck such as under the Protection of Wrecks act or War Graves legislation etc.

Look what they are trying to do to try and protect the Titanic, that shows you what lack of law applies to wreck in International waters and even now the Titanic only has UNESCO UCH protection, that as we all know is pretty worthless if someone really wants to work it:

The 41 signatory states, which do not include the U.S. and Canada, "will prohibit the pillaging, sale and dispersion of the wreck and its artifacts."
"They shall take all measures in their power to protect the site, and to ensure that proper respect is given to the human remains still to be found on it," the UNESCO said.

The Dutch salvors who raised a gun from the Victory knowing it was a RN vessel broke no law, and I believe the UK is yet to get the gun back, and I think they may still have to pay the salvor for some of their cost.

Legally the Victory site has no protection from any salvors and even OME could if the wanted to still go and salvage what they want, as the UK has no jurisdiction on the site and can only seek ownership in the courts of any country it was landed in (as Spain had to do in the US to seek ownership of the Mercedes Silver)