Fantome Update

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1:52pm Sunday, Apr 15 | Edit Note | Delete

This year, two long feature articles have appeared in Archeology Magazine and Canadian Geographic telling the Fantome story and public interest is at a surprising level in NS. There have been dozens of media reports on the wreck worldwide. Three public discussions at the Maritime Museum in Halifax drew over 500 people.

As I predicted, and warned the NS government in 2005, both the US and UK government stepped in and formally complained to Ottawa in the summer of 2006 asking them to stop allowing treasure hunters on important wreck sites that others had a legal interest in.

The Nova Scotia government 'reacted' by telling the Fantome treasure hunters that they would have to get permission from the UK and US government to continue their hunt. But the government didn't change or review any of the laws under which they themselves gave the treasure hunters licence. The treasure hunters, acting in good faith, with legal NS licence had spent a lot of money on the site and so they are now suing the NS government.

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A recreated brig very much like Fantome

cid:5C04CFF0-980D-4911-891B-4638CD3AAD06@local

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Finally, at the end of 2006 the heritage taskforce, after public meetings with interested parties all around Nova Scotia, and consultation with the treasure hunters themselves, recommended to the government that the treasure trove act be shut down and that all historic shipwrecks be administrated under the special places act, which would also get an update.

This winter much has come to light , from court martial reports and captain's logs, about the Fantome's goings and doings before she was sunk in 1814. It's a great story but much mystery remains. I still find it hard to account for the vast amount of treasure that has reportedly already been taken off the wreck by past salvage and the treasure hunter's continued interest in the site given the facts that are known. But the UK and US government interest seems to indicate that something is up and more remains to be discovered about Fantome.

I still think the right thing to do is stop, for a moment, and use the Fantome as a model to formulate language under the Special Places Act to set down the principles on how to decide what to do with historic shipwrecks as they are 'discovered'. I say that in quotes because few shipwrecks are actually lost. Most are known to the communities, fisherman and other seagoing folks around Nova Scotia. But new technology and private commercial interests are taking this knowledge (for free) and exposing shipwrecks at an amazing rate. Going forward, we should have a plan for handling this. As the Fantome illustrates vividly, many and varied interests are at play.

In the end, I think the answer will be that every shipwreck site is unique and we need a system, and people (probably a marine archaeologist), in place to decide what best to do given all the interests and issues involved.

As the summer season approaches we are set to watch an intense stand off between the local community, the treasure hunters, archaeologists, the federal and provincial Canadian governments and the governments and historic groups in the UK and the USA.

The fate of the Fantome will also have a huge impact not only on the other 5-10,000 historic wrecks in Nova Scotia's waters but all issues surrounding our territorial waters including Nova Scotia's ongoing battle with the federal government over off-shore oil and gas rights.

jw

Fantome

Next Tuesday night is the third and final meeting in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic discussion series on the Fantome shipwreck. the turnout for these public talks have been nothing short of phenomenal. No gold, no treasure, no lives lost, just an interesting and enigmatic story from 200 years ago.

US courts speak on ownership of sunken stuff

Spanish wrecks in America

International Registry of Sunken Ships


The Spanish claim of ownership of their vessels lost in American waters has been upheld by the Courts of America. It would seem a salvage operator requires absolute proof abandonment or the vessel still belongs to Spain. So treasure hunters and investors take note, you might only be incurring a waste of time and money. This case really falls back to the basics, the vessel has/had an owner, the cargo has/had an owner and the personal property on board has/had an owner. Unless relinquished, ownership remains. (I have compiled a table at the bottom of the page of the Spanish wrecks on the US East coast that "may" be subject to a Spanish claim).


Report on Fouth Circiut Court Findings by the University of Mississippi

Technological improvements in shipwreck detection have caused an increase in claims by private parties, states, and countries to previously inaccessible shipwrecks and their cargo. The recent discovery of JUNO and LA GALGA, two Spanish military vessels that capsized during the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries along the Virginia coast, prompted the U.S. to challenge a private salvage company's claim to the vessels. In July, the Fourth Circuit responded by reversing a lower court's decision to grant Sea Hunt, a private salvage company, title to LA GALGA, holding that Spain retained title since Sea Hunt could not prove that Spain had abandoned the vessel.

Sea Hunt Locates LA GALGA and JUNO
In 1998, Sea Hunt obtained permits from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to explore for submersed vessels along the Virginia Coast. After spending nearly a million dollars in its search, Sea Hunt revealed that it had located the sunken remains of JUNO and LA GALGA. In order to resolve title to the shipwrecks, Sea Hunt sought a declaratory judgment from the district court stating that Virginia, rather than Spain, owned the vessels. The United States, fearing that the judgment would persuade other nations to divest its similarly situated shipwrecks, filed a claim on Spain's behalf asserting ownership over the vessels. The district court rejected the United States' efforts, but permitted Spain to file its own verified claim. Then, the district court, applying an express abandonment standard, held that Spain retained ownership over JUNO, but had expressly abandoned LA GALGA through Article XX of the 1763 Definitive Treaty of Peace between France, Great Britain and Spain (1763 Treaty).

Fourth Circuit Declares Spain as Owner
Under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 (ASA), a state acquires title to all abandoned vessels embedded within its submerged lands. In defining the term abandoned, the ASA merely provides that abandonment occurs the moment an owner relinquishes its rights to a sunken vessel. On appeal to the Fourth Circuit, Virginia and Sea Hunt argued that the ASA's definition of abandonment should permit a court to imply abandonment where a sovereign fails to declare its ownership in a timely manner. The Fourth Circuit disagreed, holding that, as under admiralty law, a sovereign owner appearing before a court to assert its ownership to a shipwreck retains title to the vessel unless an express and affirmative declaration of abandonment is proven.

The Fourth Circuit applied the express abandonment standard to the 1763 Treaty and determined that Spain had not relinquished its rights to LA GALGA. First, although Article XX of the treaty contains "sweeping language of Spain's cession," it never explicitly refers to vessels, warships, shipwrecks, or frigates. Since the treaty contains a detailed catalogue of "non-territorial state property" to be conveyed, but does not include shipwrecks, the Fourth Circuit concluded that Spain had not expressly abandoned its title to the vessels. Likewise, Article XX expressly limits the cession to Spanish property located "on the continent of North America." The specificity of this territorial limit convinced the court that the shipwrecks were not part of the cession since they were located on the seabed. Next, the court noted that Article XX grants the King of Spain an unlimited amount of time to retrieve his personal property; the other provisions of the treaty specifically set time limits on similar actions. Therefore, absent an affirmative act of abandonment, Spain could retrieve the vessels at any time. Finally, both Spain and Great Britain agreed that the vessels were not included under Article XX. When the parties to a treaty agree to the interpretation of its provisions, the courts must defer to the parties' understanding unless there is "extraordinarily strong contrary evidence." The court was bound by Spain and Great Britain's interpretation since Virginia and Sea Hunt were unable to rebut.
In concluding that Spain retained its right to both LA GALGA and JUNO, the Fourth Circuit emphasized that anything short of an affirmative act of abandonment will undermine a state's or private salvage company's claim to a sovereign shipwreck. This decision stresses that, as under customary international law, sovereign shipwrecks should be protected from unauthorized interference.





Report on Supreme Court Findings by Laurie Asseo of Assiciated Press via Fox News
The Supreme Court stayed out of disputes over the right to salvage two sunken ships and a crashed U.S. warplane off the coasts of Virginia and Florida. The court, without comment, on Tuesday turned down appeals by Virginia and the salvage company Sea Hunt Inc. that Spain abandoned two shipwrecks long ago and now cannot stop salvage efforts off the state's coast. The justices also declined to hear an appeal by a Nevada company that wants to raise a U.S. Navy bomber that crashed off the Florida coast during a training flight in 1943.

The Spanish warship La Galga sank off the Maryland-Virginia coast in 1750 during a hurricane. Most of the passengers and crew reached land safely, but efforts to salvage items from the wreck failed when a second storm broke up the ship. About 430 people died in 1802 when the warship Juno sank in a storm off Virginia. Some believe the ship was carrying a large shipment of coins and precious metals.
Under federal law, shipwrecks within three miles of a state's coast belong to the state if they have been abandoned by their original owners. Virginia gave Sea Hunt a license to salvage two shipwrecks found in its waters, believed to be the La Galga and the Juno. After Spain argued that it still owned the ships, a federal judge ruled that Spain still owned the Juno but gave up ownership of the La Galga in 1763. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last July that Spain still owns both ships. Shipwrecks — particularly those owned by a nation's government — can be considered abandoned only if the owner has clearly relinquished its rights, and Spain has not done so, the appeals court said. In the appeals acted on Tuesday, lawyers for Virginia and Sea Hunt said a ship's abandonment can be "implied." Otherwise, Sea Hunt's lawyers said, "Hundreds of shipwrecks of historic or cultural significance will never be rescued." Spain's lawyers said it never abandoned the ships and wants them left undisturbed as military gravesites.

The bomber that crashed eight miles off the Florida coast in 1943 was a Navy Devastator torpedo bomber that had been used in Pacific combat missions during World War II. The pilot and crew escaped safely. Nevada-based International Aircraft Recovery sought court permission in 1998 to raise the aircraft. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government had not abandoned the craft and that it could not be salvaged over the government's objection. In the appeal acted on Tuesday, International Aircraft's lawyers said the plane could provide "historical, archaeological and monetary wealth to the public."

The cases are International Aircraft Recovery v. U.S., 00-617; Virginia v. Spain, 00-629, and Sea Hunt Inc. v. Spain, 00-652.

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Long lost bodies found in lake

Bodies may be Ont. couple missing 50 years: police

Last Updated: Sunday, October 22, 2006 | 6:28 PM ET

CBC News

Ontario Provincial Police believe they've found the bodies of a couple who have been missing for 50 years.

Allan and Margaret Campbell disappeared while boating on Trout Lake, near their home in North Bay, in May 1956.

On Friday, an OPP underwater search-and-recovery team found human remains, a boat like the Campbells' and an outboard motor in deep water, not far from the site where their cottage once stood.

OPP Sgt. Joe Strba said police are pretty confident they've found the Campbells.

"We have almost fully recovered two adult remains," one male and one female, he said Sunday. Police have also found a woman's watch, which a family member described as Margaret Campbell's, and two sets of dentures.

The remains are being sent for DNA testing.

The Campbells went to open up the cottage on May 29, 1956. That was the last time they were seen.

Search fruitless

Their disappearance led to the biggest search in North Bay's history up to that time, but to no avail. Over the years, police investigated several tips, including one that the couple had been murdered.

The OPP resumed their search this year after a media report about the cold case.

Prompted by a tip about where the boat had last been seen, police scanned the lake bottom with sonar. Divers found the boat and motor in more than 15 metres of water.

The Campbells' four daughters have been notified.

shipwrecks

On this blog we'll talk about shipwrecks, diving, treasure hunting and marine cultural heritage .

jw