PORT VILA, Vanuatu (24 Sep 2003) -- The recently installed, state of the art "smart" x-ray baggage screening equipment, operating since only the 9th July at the international airport at Port Vila, has already proven its value on several occasions by preventing the carriage of dangerous goods on aircraft. On Saturday 20th September, AVL Aviation Security officers found 15 WWII artillery shells packed in the luggage of visiting scuba divers who had been on holiday in Espiritu Santo. The shells had been removed from a dive site in Santo, in breach of the normal diver's code of practice which requires artefacts to be left in their place for others to see in the future. Mr. Dave Cross, a professional scuba diver and operator of Pro-Dive in Luganville, had earlier warned AVL to be on the lookout for such items because he believed that they had been removed from a dive site he regularly visited. CEO of Airports Vanuatu, Capt. Desmond Ross, said, "Although the projectiles had been removed from these shells, and the explosives emptied out, we can never be sure that they are completely safe. There is a primer at the base of the shell that may not be recognised by an untrained person and if that is mishandled or dropped, it may explode. Old ammunition can be very unstable and when removed from the water, is very dangerous." "Aviation Security is mainly concerned about the security and safety of aircraft and passengers, and in this case was making sure that no dangerous items should be allowed on board the aircraft. However, we were also very pleased to be able to prevent the export of artifacts that now belong to the government and people of Vanuatu. It is important that such items should remain at dive sites of historical significance for other divers to see in the future. These shells will be returned to the dive location in Santo for the enjoyment of other visiting divers." "Of particular concern is that these shells had been removed from the dive site, and then cleaned on shore. This is an extremely dangerous practice because of the instability of such old ammunition. There are many cases, world wide, of people being injured and killed by old ammunition from wars of many years ago, that has become unstable and will explode if mishandled." "This is why we will never allow such items on board an aircraft." "I am particularly concerned that many of these items may have been removed in the past and not detected because we did not have the X-ray scanning equipment then. We will be looking very carefully for such items in the future to prevent their carriage on aircraft," Capt. Ross added. "While we welcome scuba divers and tourists to visit these sites, it is important that people now recognise that they will not be able to carry dangerous goods or export any valuable artefacts through the Port Vila International Airport." SOURCE - Porto Vila PresseAfter ripping off a Vanuatu wreck site, scuba divers attempted to smuggle WWII artillery shells onto a commercial airliner. | | 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 |
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