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.
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.
/bingo
International law holds that title to the wreck of a warship remains in the Sovereign whose flag it flew, it is very different from merchant ships.