WD: How can you find out if anyone else has already found the ship and laid claims to it?

The "receiver of wreck" keeps meticulous records on who the current owner of a shipwreck is. Sometimes shipwrecks can be purchased for ridiculously small amounts of cash, such as US$1.00. This is often the case for a wreck laying in a dangerous position, which is a risk to shipping. The new owner ends up purchasing the wreck's liability to other shipping from the insurance company.

WD: What about military shipwrecks? Who is permitted to salvage those?

A tricky question, and one suddenly loaded with modern-day politics. Somehow, all of a sudden, shipwrecks that have been rotting on the ocean floor and subject to commercial salvage for 50 years and previously of total unconcern to the survivors' relatives and governments are now hot potatoes. Fast acting and ever concerned about grieving relatives, the governments act to make them a "war grave." Plainly, this should have been done immediately. It does not take this long to discover that a soldier died on the ship. Let's make it clear here - it's not the making a vessel into a war grave and the banning of salvage that angers me. It is that the governments waited so long to do so.

WD: So what does the modern shipwreck recovery operation need outside western seaways nowadays?

1. Absolute secrecy enforced.

2. The vessel must assume they will may be boarded by quasi official government bodies who want to get hold of any loot recovered. How word of this got out must be determined.

3. Archaeologist from many governments are just as big a bunch of thieves (if not a bigger bunch of thieves) as the wreck item recovery team. Many recent 'official' recovery operations reveal as much as 75% of the recovered items 'disappear into private collections' once the items leave the vessel and go into storage. Just who knows exactly what was recovered. and where is EVERY item now.

4. The recovery vessel in international waters must be prepared to defend itself with adequate lethal force. As a bare minimum M16's with 40mm RPG's, Limpet mines to attach to 'visitors vessel', Over-shoulder-boulder-throwers ( Stinger anti-aircraft missiles) for irritating helicopters, plus wire guided anti-tank weapons for Patrol vessels.