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2ND DEC 2008
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 A University of Wolverhampton law expert is calling for legal reform to protect treasure found on shipwrecks following the record haul discovered 40 miles off Land’s End.
The haul of silver and gold treasure, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, is thought to be from the Merchant Royal, a British merchant vessel sunk in 1641, 40 miles off the UK coast.
Mike Williams, a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University, has published extensively on the law relating to Underwater Cultural Heritage and proprietary rights in the seabed and foreshore. He said that the British Government had been lucky the recent find had been made by reputable salvers, but he felt that extra protection for artifacts found on shipwrecks was urgently needed.
Mr Williams said: “I sit on the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (JNAPC), and along with the Council for British Archeology and UNESCO, we have repeatedly pointed out to the UK Government that underwater technology had moved on, and we need some regulation over wreck recovery beyond 12 nautical miles to protect British heritage. These bodies jointly issued the Burlington House Declaration to the Government calling for reform in 2006.
“The Government is very lucky that this wreck was discovered by a reputable salvers. But the next time we might not be so lucky.”
Mr Williams explained that Britain has jurisdiction over wrecks of archaeological or historical interest found within its territorial waters – up to 12 nautical miles from the coast. Beyond this distance there is no jurisdiction, unless the wreck is a British warship, in which case it has sovereign immunity.
He said the Government could sign up to the 2001 UNESCO Convention to protect underwater cultural heritage, or declare an “exclusive economic zone” which would give the country sovereign rights out to 200 nautical miles. Alternatively Britain could conclude multi-lateral treaties with the countries that have deep water technology - which has been done in relation to the Titanic between Canada, America, France and the UK.
Mike Williams is a member of UNESCO’s National UK Commission and the Receiver of Wreck’s Working Party on Wrecks. He is also a Director and Honorary Secretary of the Nautical Archaeology Society. Michael has also advised commercial salvage firms, government agencies and departments in the United Kingdom and abroad. He is a commercially qualified diver with 29 years diving experience and since 1994 has dived with the South West Maritime Archaeology Group.
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