John B. v. Royal Merchant, a shipwrecked vessel

Re: Outer Banks (2020)/Abandoned Shipwrecks

What happens when a shipwreck is discovered?  How is ownership of a shipwreck determined?  Who keeps the artifacts found on a shipwreck?

Sources:

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf

Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, 43 U.S.C. 39 §2101.

Salvage of Abandoned Shipwrecks and Other Underwater Archaeological Sites, North Carolina General Statutes, Ch. 121, Art. 3.

Intersal, Inc. v. Hamilton, 834 S.E.2d 404, 373 N.C. 89 (N.C. 2019).

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. v. the Unidentified Shipwrecked Vessel, 657 F.3d 1159 (11th Cir. 2011).

Recovery Ltd. v. S.S. Central Am., 2:87cv363 (E.D. Va. 2016); see also CADG I, 742 F. Supp. 1327 (E.D. Va. 1990); CADG II, 974 F.2d 450 (4th Cir. 1992); CADG III, No. 87-363-N (E.D. Va. 1993); CADG IV, 56 F.3d 556 (4th Cir. 1995); and CADG V, 203 F.3d 291 (4th Cir. 2000).

U.S. v. Thompson, 925 F.3d 292 (6th Cir. 2019).

Peter Tyson, “Who Owns Lost Ships?” PBS NOVA, 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lasalle/owners.html (2000).

Kim Alderman, “High Seas Shipwreck Pits Treasure Hunters Against a Sovereign Nation: The Black Swan Case.” American Society of International Law Cultural Heritage and Arts Review (Spring 2010). 

“25 Things Found in the Ocean and Their Worth”  https://www.therichest.com/rich-powerful/25-things-found-in-the-ocean-and-their-worth/ 

Written, Researched, and Recorded by Céleste Young, 2023-2025.
Music: Out On My Skateboard - Mini Vandals

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