MARSEILLE, France (14 Mar 2007) -- Four scuba divers were fined for stealing artifacts from a Roman ship dating back to the second century B.C. The scuba diving thieves were fined €1,500 (US$1,980) for stealing at least a dozen Roman vases and about 20 other artifacts from the shipwreck, which is located off the coast of Marseille at a depth of 57 meters (187 feet). According to marine archaeologists, the Roman ship sailed from a port on the west coast of Italy bound for France with about 1,000 vases of wine. The vessel, which sank in the second century B.C., was discovered off the town of Ciotat about 40 kilometers (24 miles) south of Marseille in 1984. Under French law, all shipwrecks located within the coastal waters of France are fully protected must be reported to authorities. But according to testimony in the French court, the scuba looters systematically pillaged the shipwreck between 2001 and 2005. French officials said the shipwreck has been targeted by other scuba diving thieves who have stolen more than 70 percent of the artifacts protected by French law. In recent years, a small group of recreational scuba divers have exploited advances in scuba diving equipment to steal artifacts from shipwrecks thought to be protected from looting by depth if not law. Ironically, several dive consumer trade shows including DEMA, Boston Sea Rovers and Beneath the Sea, as well as some scuba equipment manufacturers have endorsed a few high-profile divers involved in the thefts and campaigned against regulations aimed at protecting marine resources arguing the divers "take only pictures and leave only bubbles." © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKCYBER 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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| | Liars and looters 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 worth millions but a fraction of the revenue shipwrecks can generate year after year as fully protected underwater museums. FROM THE EDITORS OF CDNN Despite dive industry 'take pictures, leave only bubbles' green-wash, a small but strident group of industry-promoted scuba diving looters steal artifacts from shipwrecks under the guise of 'archaeological exploration', and 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. "We do not care about Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard's personality problems, their hate-mongering web sites, their chat room shenanigans nor their crude attempts to blackmail responsible, eco-friendly dive companies that support full protection of marine wildlife, shipwrecks and underwater war graves," said CDS President Evan T. Allard. "Such unscrupulous conduct is beneath contempt and serves only to substantiate accusations that Bishop and Sheard have committed crimes and will continue to do so unless authorities step in." "The fact is that the vast majority of the global scuba diving community opposes shipwreck looting and underwater grave robbing, and with good reason," Allard added. "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 said. |
