Wrecks & Archaeology

Earlier that summer, the government of Spain successfully argued that, under the terms of international Sovereign Immunity, it never abandoned or otherwise relinquished its ownership of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which sunk during a sea battle with the British Navy in 1804. At the time of its loss, the Mercedes was sailing back to Spain from South America.

Odyssey has said that it will appeal Judge Pizzo’s ruling and will “vigorously defend” its right to the treasure. The 500,000 plus coins remain under lock and key in the company’s warehouse.

In one of the largest, most complex underwater archeological undertakings in Canadian history, Parks Canada and Inuit are working in collaboration to explore the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror―the storied ships of the 1845 Franklin Expedition that set sail from England on a quest to find the sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific through the Arctic Ocean―across what is now Canada's Arctic and Nunavut.

Statnett, the Norwegian state-owned power grid operator, made the astounding discovery of the lost Karlsruhe cruiser around 488 meters (1,600 feet) below sea level off the Southern coast of Norway, some 13 nautical miles from the port of Kristiansand. Signs of wreckage were first detected three years ago during inspection work when sonar detected a shipwreck only 15 meters from an undersea power cable between Norway and Denmark.

On 18 March 2020, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard issued the following tweet. "It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to close all of the sites of The National Museum of the Royal Navy. This is a difficult decision but we've done so with the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors in mind." Director General Dominic Tweddie

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England stated "Our historic places bring us together. It is vital that they survive intact. Our emergency grants are providing a much-needed safety net to organisations and businesses that are helping to save our most precious heritage.”

The grant from Historic England is very timely and much appreciated. Mary Rose Trust