BROCKVILLE, Ontario (10 Feb 2006) -- The sole living survivor of the J.B. King explosion believes that while divers should still be allowed access to the wreck, the site should be protected and recognized as a gravesite. Now 94, Captain Ev Snider was one of 11 people to survive the drillboat explosion in June 1930. Although dive sites in the Brockville area of the St. Lawrence River are not affected by a new provincial regulation designed to protect three shipwrecks in Lake Ontario and Lake Superior, he believes that visitors to the site should be made aware that that the J.B. King is the resting place of 13 to 17 men. Thirty men died when the drillboat was struck by lightning and exploded more than 75 years ago, and the bodies of more than 13 men were never recovered, he said. "They never found them. They might have been blown to bits, I don't know," Snider said. Still, he wouldn't want the J.B. King to be declared off limits to divers without a special permit from the province like the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior and the Hamilton and the Scourge in Lake Ontario. The J.B. King is positioned off the northwest corner of Cockburn Island, in the Brockville Narrows, about 125 feet underwater. "Diving and viewing the shipwrecks has become quite a business around here," said Snider. "It's quite a thing for divers to come to the area and it's a source of revenue for the area. I wouldn't like to see people banned from the wrecks. "My view is that if they can see (the site) and not touch it, then its OK," said Snider. "But you would need the assurance that they wouldn't touch anything and it's very hard to police. "As long as they leave it intact (it's OK)," he said. "People are always after getting souvenirs and it takes away from the wrecks." Snider said he was told that the steering wheel from a little workboat he was running had been removed from the wreck site. Although it doesn't bother him to hear about divers going down to explore the sunken drillboat, people should remember that the J.B. King is a gravesite and treat it with respect, Snider said. Other Brockville residents agreed with Snider. "Perhaps the wreck site should be treated with the same reverence as that shown to the Edmund Fitzgerald," said Brockville resident Geoff Chittenden in an interview with the Recorder and Times. | | Partners in scuba diving crimes: Notorious scuba diving looters Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard. Net profits from the global trade in looted artifacts are now on a par with those from smuggling humans and drugs. Emboldened by the explosion of internet auction sites, an increasing number of looters are linking up with criminal gangs seeking to launder ill-gotten gains through the international market. In a letter to the newspaper, Chittenden wrote that "underwater explorations in this area a few years ago were not as respectful of wrecks as evidenced by the ancient anchors which sometimes graced rural lawns. Can anyone believe that pillaging is not continuing, albeit in a scaled-down and furtive way?" Chittenden, who moved to Brockville in 1952, said that he's always had an interest in the river and in preserving its accessibility. But he's all for making the J.B. King off limits. "I understand it's a very dangerous dive anyway," Chittenden said. "I'm quite aware of the number of people who have died on dives. I don't think there should be any more diving on that wreck because it's dangerous." Danger aside, the site should be off limits to divers because "30 people died on the wreck," Chittenden said. "It was an explosion. I don't think they have the facilities to recover all the bodies," he said. "Some of the bodies may have drifted away. In an explosion like that, some of the bodies may not be entirely intact." Brockville resident Deborah Dunleavy is all for making the J.B. King a protected heritage site. SOURCE - Brockville Recorder & TimesCYBER 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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