CD,
In international waters, the international conventions on salvage and finds apply, and if you find a wreck you can apply to a Federal Court who can assume jurisdiction and apply those international conventions. For example, control of the Titanic wreck is administered by a US court in Philadelphia, I think. The law of salvage enables a finder of a wreck, and the finder would expect to get the lion's share of the value of the wreck, traditionally up to 90% of the value. Recent US legislation has exempted the wrecks of all Government owned ships in US waters from salvage claims, but in international waters only "Sovereign wrecks" are exempt. These are ships owned by a Government and on non-commercial activities when sunk. Also in international US waters, wrecks may still be considered "abandoned" by implication, without their owners havving specifically declared them to be abandoned. If somebody finds a wreck in international waters that is not that of a Sovereign vessel, they should obtain hard evidence and apply to a Federal Court for salvage rights. All wrecks have owners,or potential owners, but the law of salvage has traditionally favored the salvor where the owner has taken no significant steps to salvage the ship themselves.
I would not worry too much about the US Coast Guard, especially in International waters (ie more than 24 naurical miles off the US coast). In recent correspondence with a very senior person in the USCG, I have been told that they regard shipwreck salvage as being primarally a civil matter, and it is not their policy to intervene, even when a wreck is being looted in US waters. I would be interested to know of any cases where they have actually intervened.
Mariner
