Posted on 01/05/2013 9:26:51 AM PST by KeyLargo
US treasure hunters ready to snatch gold from the jaws of Victory
US treasure hunters should be banned from raising the wreck of one of Britains greatest warships and taking some of the millions of pounds of gold coins she is believed to contain, leading archaeologists and descendants of the crew demand today.
By Victoria Ward
8:00AM GMT 05 Jan 2013
They said that allowing HMS Victory, predecessor to Nelsons flagship, to be exploited for commercial gain would be a flagrant breach of the military covenant and an appalling betrayal of more than 1,000 Royal Navy sailors who died.
The wreck was discovered by the US company Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2008, 264 years after it sank in a storm off the Channel Islands. Experts believe it may contain gold worth hundreds of millions of pounds as well as 100 bronze cannon.
The Ministry of Defence concluded that recovery could go ahead under the auspices of a charity. Lord Lingfield, formerly Sir Robert Balchin , a descendant of Admiral Sir John Balchen , the ships commander, founded the Maritime Heritage Foundation for the purpose.
The foundation has submitted its plans to the MoD and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and signed a contract with Odyssey which would give the Florida-based firm 80 per cent of the value of coins and bullion recovered and 50 per cent of the value of cultural
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
We won!
Finders keepers. Those that could would. Go suck a lemon.
My philosophy is that when the ship sinks, you lose ownership of the property. The sea owns that stuff now, and anyone who can wrestle something out of the sea’s grip becomes the new owner.
The Channel Islands are in British territory.
The Channel Islands are in British territory.
If the Victory was of such importance to the Brits,why didn’t they attempt to recover her before Odysey?Pretty superficial.Florida has used the same mo-let others find significant wrecks,then declare them “archaelogical sites”.
Blah, Blah, Blah. Follow the money.
the 20% cut of the bullion and the 50% cut of the cultural artifacts certainly beats the 100% share of nothing which would other wise be their share without Odyssey’s expertise.
This is a British ship which sunk in the English Channel.
You honestly telling me no Americans would have a problem with a UK company raising the wreck of a famous American ship which lay right off the coast of the United States and keeping most of the loot?. Yeah right.
The whole frickin’ world is looking for a handout.
And it’s always based on guilt since the beggars have no right to thhe goodies they demand.
The whole frickin’ world is looking for a handout.
And it’s always based on guilt since the beggars have no right to thhe goodies they demand.
Finders keepers!
Ain’t it great that history (and great wealth) is being recovered rather than lost to the sea?
“This is a British ship which sunk in the English Channel.
You honestly telling me no Americans would have a problem with a UK company raising the wreck of a famous American ship which lay right off the coast of the United States and keeping most of the loot?. Yeah right.”
Why not? The President has permitted China and Brazil drilling for oil off of U.S. Gulf Coast.
Your King George stole our best pine trees from Maine to be appropriated for his ship masts. What is the difference?
If Brits are so concerned about the damn ship, why didn’t they salvage it?
I wouldn't say that because I'm sure there's a ton of govt. lawyers just waiting for the British to find something..........But as for my personal opinion. if they find it, they should be able to keep it.....
I wouldn't say that because I'm sure there's a ton of govt. lawyers just waiting for the British to find something..........But as for my personal opinion. if they find it, they should be able to keep it.....
Tell that to Mel Fisher.
It's already been discovered and claimed........nice try tho
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