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Reporting a find

You make a fabulous find on a dive - a priceless gold ingot or a modern day porthole. Who gets to say what you can keep? The answer lies with the Coroner of the Seas, otherwise known as the Receiver of Wreck. Wreck is defined as the many different artefacts found in the sea or washed up on shore. However, if you find any item of 'wreck' in British waters, you must report it by law.

The Receiver of Wreck ensures that people who find a wreck artefact receive an appropriate reward. The Crown or the owner of the property pays this salvage payment, or the finder may receive the property instead of payment. The Receiver of Wreck will investigate the ownership of any wreck and will advertise to give the owner a chance to come forward to claim their property. If the find is historic, they will get archaeological advice about its identity, age and importance.

If the owner is not found after one year from the date of the report, the material becomes unclaimed wreck. The Crown has the right to all unclaimed wreck, which are found within United Kingdom waters, but not that which is found outside these limits. In this case the material is returned to the finder. The Receiver of Wreck is responsible for the disposal of unclaimed wreck.

A historic wreck is defined in the Merchant Shipping Act as over 100 years old. Any item which is found from a wreck and considered to be of historic importance, is often offered to a suitable museum. The finder's wishes are taken into consideration when deciding on the choice of museum. The museum is asked to buy the material at the current valuation price. This money goes towards the salvage payment.

Any diver who finds a wreck site, which they think might be historic, need to make sure they don't damage it in anyway or remove any artefacts. They also need to report their discovery as soon as possible to:

England - the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Northern Ireland - the Department of the Environment (NI)

Scotland - Historic Scotland

Wales - CADW

Find out more

Useful Address

The Receiver of Wreck , The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG, Tel: 01703 329474, Fax: 01703 329477

Books

The Wreck Diving Manual by Lizzie Bird (The Crowood Press , 1997)

Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks by Henry Keatts and Brian Skerry (Aquapress, Unknown)

Essentials of Deeper Sport Diving by John Lippmann (Aqua Quest Publications, 1992)

Dive England's Greatest Wrecks by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Dive Scotland's Greatest Wrecks by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Into the Abyss: Diving to Adventure in the Liquid World by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Fireside Diver by Bonnie Cardone (Aquapress, 1995)

Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World by Tim Ecott (Penguin Books Ltd, 2002)

The Silent World (National Geographic Adventure Classics) by Jacques Yves Cousteau (National Geographic Society, 2004)

Links