CLAYTON, N.Y. (24 Feb 2003) -- A marina owner who salvaged a three-ton anchor may have to put the find back on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. Heinz Wahl, owner of French Creek Marina in the Thousand Islands region of northern New York, discovered the 6,000 pound anchor while scuba diving in October. The anchor was displayed at his marina with other maritime items pulled from the river. State officials told the Watertown Daily Times in Monday's editions they are investigating ways to return the anchor to where it was found. "Things like this need to be pursued to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Charles Vandrei, a historic preservation officer for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "This anchor may not be of particular historic significance, but what happens if the next time it's a British or American Revolutionary War ship?" Vandrei is a member of a state committee that considers the legality of salvage operations. He said the bottoms of bodies of water belong to the state, and objects that end up on the bottom of rivers and lakes are considered state property. Jennifer Meicht, a spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, told the paper that her office sent Wahl a letter telling him that removing the anchor violated several laws, but received no formal response. Wahl said he is doing a service by displaying it in a community that values nautical equipment. "Why would I put it back?" Wahl asked. "It's not an artifact. It's an anchor." SOURCE - The Providence Journal | | Partners in crime: Grave robbers Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard. Following the lead of dive industry-endorsed shipwreck looters Bishop and Sheard, scuba diving thieves around the world are destroying wrecks for bragging rights, coffee table displays and internet auction profits that amount to a fraction of the revenue shipwrecks can generate as fully protected underwater museums. FROM THE EDITORS OF CDNN Scuba looters around the world aggressively compete for bragging rights, product endorsements and profits from the sales of stolen artifacts that are now on a par with those from smuggling humans and drugs. "The vast majority of the global scuba diving community opposes shipwreck looting and underwater grave robbing," said CDS President Evan T. Allard. "For scuba divers, every shipwreck is an underwater museum to be fully protected for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations of divers who will dive deeper and longer thanks to ongoing improvements in diving technology ," Allard added. "It is absolutely imperative that the global scuba diving community, archaeologists, coast guards, police and tax authorities act now to prevent Leigh Bishop, Brad Sheard, David Morton (of the Boston Sea Rovers) and other shipwreck looters from exploiting and destroying sunken ships for their personal coffee table displays, internet self-promotion schemes, commercial 'museum' profits and tax-evasion scams." CYBER DIVER ALERT | If you have information pertaining to the theft and/or sale of wreck artifacts, or desecration of underwater grave sites by Leigh Bishop, Brad Sheard, organized crime gangs or anyone else, please contact CDNN immediately and your information will be passed along to appropriate authorities. REPORT SCUBA LOOTER |
|
|
