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Ashipwreck is the wreckage of aship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately three million shipwrecks worldwide as of January 1999, according to Angela Croome, a science writer and author who specialized in the history of underwater archaeology[1] (an estimate rapidly endorsed byUNESCO[2][3] and other organizations[4]).
When a ship's crew has died or abandoned the ship, and the ship has remained adrift but unsunk, they are instead referred to asghost ships.
Historic wrecks are attractive tomaritime archaeologists because they preserve historical information: for example, studying the wreck ofMary Rose revealed information about seafaring, warfare, and life in the 16th century. Military wrecks, caused by a skirmish at sea, are studied to find details about the historic event; they reveal much about the battle that occurred. Discoveries oftreasure ships, often from the period of Europeancolonisation, which sank in remote locations leaving few living witnesses, such asBatavia, do occur as well. Some contemporary wrecks, such as theoil tankerPrestige orErika, are of interest primarily because of their potential harm to the environment. Other contemporary wrecks are scuttled in order to spur reef growth, such asAdolphus Busch andOcean Freeze. Many contemporary and historic wrecks, such asThistlegorm, are of interest torecreational divers that dive to shipwrecks because they are interesting to explore, provide large habitats for many types of marine life, and have an interesting history.
Well-known shipwrecks include the catastrophicTitanic,MV Doña Paz,Britannic,Lusitania,Estonia,Empress of Ireland,Andrea Doria,Endurance orCosta Concordia. There are also thousands of wrecks that were not lost at sea but have been abandoned or sunk. These abandoned, or derelict ships are typically smaller craft, such as fishing vessels. They may pose a hazard to navigation[5] and may be removed byport authorities.[6]
Poor design, improperly stowedcargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collisions (with another ship, the shoreline, an iceberg, etc.), inadequate maintenance, bad weather,fire, and other causes can lead to accidental sinking. Intentional reasons for sinking a ship include: intending to form anartificial reef; destruction due towarfare,piracy,mutiny orsabotage; using the vessel fortarget practice; or removing a menace to navigation. A ship can be also used asbreakwater structure.
Many factors determine the state of preservation of a wreck:
The above - especially the stratification (silt/sand sediments piled up on the shipwrecks) and the damages caused by marine creatures - is better described as "stratification and contamination" of shipwrecks. The stratification not only creates another challenge for marine archaeology, but also a challenge to determine its primary state, i.e. the state that it was in when it sank.
Stratification includes several different types of sand and silt, as well as tumulus and encrustations. These "sediments" are tightly linked to the type of currents, depth, and the type of water (salinity, pH, etc.), which implies any chemical reactions that would affect potential cargo (such as wine, olive oil, spices, etc.).
Besides this geological phenomenon, wrecks also face the damage of marine creatures that create a home out of them, primarily octopuses and crustaceans. These creatures affect the primary state because they move, or break, any parts of the shipwreck that are in their way, thereby affecting the original condition ofamphorae, for example, or any other hollow places. Finally, in addition to the slight or severe destruction marine animals can create, there are also "external" contaminants, such as the artifacts on and around the wreck atPickles Reef and the over-lapping wrecks at theMolasses Reef Wreck, or contemporary pollution in bodies of water, that severely affect shipwrecks by changing the chemical structures, or further damaging what is left of a specific ship.
Despite these challenges, if the information retrieved does not appear to be sufficient,[further explanation needed] or a poor preservation is achieved, authors like J.A. Parker claim that it is the historical value of the shipwreck[further explanation needed] that counts as well as any slight piece of information or evidence that is acquired.[7]
Exposedwooden components decay quickly. Often the only wooden parts of ships that remain after a century are those that were buried insilt orsand soon after the sinking. An example of this isMary Rose.
Steel andiron, depending on their thickness, may retain the ship's structure for decades. Ascorrosion takes place, sometimes helped by tides and weather, the structure collapses. Thick ferrous objects such ascannons,steamboilers or thepressure vessel of asubmarine often survive well underwater in spite of corrosion.
Propellers,condensers,hinges and port holes were often made from non-ferrous metals such asbrass andphosphor bronze, which do not corrode easily.
Shipwrecks in somefreshwater lakes, such as theGreat Lakes of North America, have remained intact with little degradation. In some sea areas, most notably inGulf of Bothnia andGulf of Finland, salinity is very low, and centuries-old wrecks have been preserved in reasonable condition. However,bacteria found in fresh water cause the wood on ships to rot more quickly than in seawater unless it is deprived of oxygen.[8] Two shipwrecks,USS Hamilton andUSS Scourge, have been at the bottom ofLake Ontario since they sunk during a violent storm on August 8, 1813, during theWar of 1812. They are in "remarkably good" condition.[9]
Wrecks typically decay rapidly when inseawater. There are several reasons for this:
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An important factor in the condition of the wreck is the level of destruction at the time of the loss or shortly afterwards due to the nature of the loss, salvage or later demolition.
Examples of severe destruction at the time of loss are:
After the loss, the vessel's owners may attempt tosalvage valuable parts of the ship and its cargo. This operation can cause further damage.
Shipwrecks in shallow water near busy shipping lanes are often demolished or removed to reduce the danger to other vessels. On charts, some wreck symbols have a line under the symbol with a depth mark, which indicates the water depth above the wreck.
On the seabed, wrecks are slowly broken up by the forces ofwave action caused by the weather and currents caused bytides. Also, more highly oxygenated water, which promotescorrosion, reduces the strength of ferrous structural materials of the ship. Deeper wrecks are likely to be protected by less exposure to water movement and by lower levels of oxygen in water.
Extreme cold (such as in aglacial-fed lake,Arctic waters, theGreat Lakes, etc.) slows the degradation of organic ship materials. Decay, corrosion and marine encrustation are inhibited or largely absent in cold waters.[12]
Many modern shipwrecks contribute tomarine pollution, mainly as sources of significantoil spills.[13] A 2005 survey of shipwrecks since 1890 found that over 8,500 of the submerged wrecks may still contain oil.[14] Oil spills can have devastating effects on marine and coastal environments as well as fisheries. In addition to being toxic to marine life,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), found incrude oil, are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in thesediment and marine environment.[15][16]
Shipwreck pollution may also originate with a ship's cargo or munitions,[13] such asunexploded ordnance orchemical weapons canisters.[17] German trawlerV 1302John Mahn, sunk in theNorth Sea in 1942,[18][19] has multiple unexplodeddepth charges on board which render the wreck hazardous.[18] Samples taken from the wreck and nearby sediment show the presence ofheavy metals like nickel and copper,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,arsenic and explosive compounds into surrounding waters, which have changed the local microbial ecology.[16]
Iron and steel wrecks are subject to corrosion, which is most rapid in shallow sea water where the salinity induces galvanic corrosion, oxygen content is high and water movement replenishes the oxygen rapidly. In deeper water and in still water the corrosion rates can be greatly reduced. Corrosion rates of iron and steel are also reduced when concretions, solid layers of rust, or layers of marine organisms separate the metal from the ambient water, and encourage the development of a layer of relatively stable black oxide in the hypoxic layers.[20]
Ships that sink upright onto a sand bottom tend to settle into the sand to a similar level to that at which they would normally float at the surface. The thinner materials of the upper works tend to break up first, followed by the decks and deck beams, and the hull sides unsupported by bulkheads. The bow and stern may remain relatively intact for longer as they are usually more heavily constructed. Heavy machinery like boilers, engines, pumps, winches, propellers, propeller shafts, steering gear, anchors and other heavy fittings also last longer and can provide support to the remaining hull, or cause it to collapse more rapidly. Vessels that come to rest upside down on a yielding seabed can be relatively stable, although the upper decks usually collapse under the load and machinery and fittings fall. Wrecks that rest on their side tend to deteriorate quickly, as the loads are not what they were designed to support, and poorly supported hull sides give way fairly soon and the wreckage collapses. Wrecks supported by a rocky seabed tend to collapse over and around the rocks relatively rapidly. Submarines tend to last longer as they are built much more strongly to withstand the working loads of external pressure, and may last for centuries.[20]
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A shipwreck may have value in several forms:[20]
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Often, attempts are made to salvage shipwrecks, particularly those recently wrecked, to recover the whole or part of the ship, its cargo, or its equipment. An example was the salvage of thescuttled German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow in the 1920s and 1930s. The unauthorized salvage of wrecks is calledwrecking.
Shipwreck law determines important legal questions regarding wrecks, perhaps the most important question being the question of ownership. Legally wrecks are divided intowreccum maris (material washed ashore after a shipwreck) andadventurae maris (material still at sea),[21] which are treated differently by some, but not all, legal systems.
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Wrecks are often considered separately from their cargo. For example, in the British case ofLusitania [1986] QB 384 it was accepted that the remains of the vessel itself were owned by the insurance underwriters who had paid out on the vessel as a total loss by virtue of the law ofsubrogation (who subsequently sold their rights), but that the property aboard the wreck still belonged to its original owners or their heirs.
Military wrecks, however, remain under the jurisdiction – and hence protection – of the government that lost the ship, or that government's successor. Hence, a GermanU-boat from World War II still technically belongs to the German government, althoughNazi Germany (the government at the time) is long-defunct. Many military wrecks are also protected by virtue of beingwar graves.
However, many legal systems allow the rights of salvors to override the rights of the original owners of a wreck or its cargo. As a general rule, non-historic civilian shipwrecks are considered fair game for salvage. Under internationalmaritime law, for shipwrecks of a certain age, the original owner may have lost all claim to the cargo. Anyone who finds the wreck can then file a salvage claim on it and place a lien on the vessel, and subsequently mount a salvage operation (seeFinders, keepers).[22] The State of North Carolina questionably claims "all photographs, video recordings, or other documentary materials of a derelict vessel or shipwreck or its contents, relics, artifacts, or historic materials in the custody of any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions" to be its property.[23]
Some countries assert claims to all wrecks within their territorial waters, irrespective of the interest of the original owner or the salvor.[24]
Some legal systems regard a wreck and its cargo to be abandoned if no attempt is made to salvage them within a certain period of time. English law has usually resisted this notion (encouraged by an extremely large maritime insurance industry, which asserts claims in respect of shipwrecks which it has paid claims on), but it has been accepted to a greater or lesser degree in an Australian case[25] and in a Norwegian case.[26]
The American courts have been inconsistent between states and at federal level.[27] Under Danish law, all shipwrecks over 150 years old belong to the state if no owner can be found.[citation needed] In Spain, wrecks vest in the state if not salvaged within 3 years.[citation needed] In Finland, all property on board shipwrecks over 100 years old vests in the state.[citation needed]
The BritishProtection of Wrecks Act, enacted to protect historic wrecks, controls access to wrecks such asCattewater Wreck which can only be visited or investigated under licence. The BritishProtection of Military Remains Act 1986 also restricts access to wrecks which are sensitive aswar graves. The Protection of Military Remains Act in some cases creates a blanket ban on all diving; for other wrecks divers may visit provided they do not touch, interfere with or penetrate the wreck. In the United States, shipwrecks in state waters are regulated by theAbandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987. This act is much more lenient in allowing more open access to the shipwrecks.
Following the beaching ofMSC Napoli, as a result of severe damage incurred during European stormKyrill, there was confusion in the press and by the authorities about whether people could be prevented from helping themselves to theflotsam which was washed up on the beaches atBranscombe. Many people took advantage of the confusion and helped themselves to the cargo. This included manyBMW motorbikes and empty wine casks as well as bags of disposable nappies (diapers).[28] The legal position under theMerchant Shipping Act 1995 is that any such finds and recovery must be reported within 28 days to theReceiver of Wreck.[29] Failure to do so is an offence under the Merchant Shipping Act and can result in a criminal record fortheft by finding.[30] After several days, the police and Receiver of Wreck, in conjunction with the landowner and the contractedsalvors, established a cordon to prevent access to the beach.[31] A similar situation occurred after the wreck ofCita in 1997.
Historic wrecks (often but not always defined as being more than 50 years of age) are often protected from pillaging and looting through national laws protecting cultural heritage.[32] Internationally they may be protected by a State ratifying theUnesco Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. In this case pillaging is not allowed. One such example isQueen Anne's Revenge[33] which is undergoing archaeological recovery by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources near Beaufort Inlet, NC.
An important international convention aiming at the protection of underwater cultural heritage (including shipwrecks) is theConvention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.[34]The 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage represents the international community's response to the increasing looting and destruction of underwater cultural heritage. It forms part of a group of UNESCO standard setting instruments regarding the domain of cultural heritage, encompassing seven conventions adopted by UNESCO Member States, which constitute a coherent and complementary body guaranteeing a complete protection of all forms of cultural heritage.
The UNESCO 2001 Convention is an international treaty aimed exclusively at the protection of underwater cultural heritage and the facilitation of international cooperation in this regard. It does not change sovereignty rights of States or regulate the ownership of wrecks or submerged ruins.[35]
In 2011, the most valuable cargo of a sunken shipwreck was identified near the western edge of theCeltic Sea. This World War II era sinking ofGairsoppa led to a treasure almost three miles (16,000 ft; 4,800 m) deep.[36]
A U.S. federal court and a panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit have upheld the Spanish claim to the contents of the shipNuestra Señora de las Mercedes; Spain took control of the treasure in February 2012. A very small number of coins and effects recovered from the ship were deposited in Gibraltar, because they showed clear signs coherent with an internal explosion on the ship and thus confirmed Spanish claims to the wreck being that of theNuestra Señora de las Mercedes. They were not returned to Spain until 2013, when a court finally ordered Odyssey Marine to return the missing pieces.
ArchaeologistValerios Stais discovered one of the most notable instruments of time keeping and prediction of celestial events off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera on May 17, 1902. The device, known as theAntikythera Mechanism, is perhaps the earliest example of what would be known as today as ananalog computer, and the technology it encompasses predates any other recorded description by hundreds or thousands of years.
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