Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or artistic value. Section 2 provides for designation of dangerous sites. Wreck sites must have a known location in order to be designated. Designated wrecks are marked on admiralty charts and their physical location is sometimes marked by means of a buoy (sea mark). Information boards are often provided at nearby launch points on land. Wrecks designated by virtue of historical, archaeological or artistic value It is a criminal offence to interfere with a wreck designated under section 1 of the act without a licence. Navigation, angling and bathing are permitted provided this will not interfere with the wreck. A licence is required to dive at the wreck site. Separate licences are required for any disturbance, such as recovery of artifacts or underwater excavation. Licences to survey, visit etc. can be obtained by applying online to Historic England, to Cadw, and Historic Scotland. Anchoring on the wreck site is also not permitted except in accordance with licensed activities. The area designated may extend beyond the visible remains. Designation and licensing under section 1 of the act is managed by Historic England, Cadw and Historic Scotland. The first wreck to be designated was the Cattewater Wreck at Plymouth, in 1973. As of July 2007 there were 60 wreck sites under current protection under section 1 of the act. Two sites that had at some point been designated have subsequently been revoked. Identifying protected wreck sites All protected wrecks are listed in the annual Admiralty Notices to Mariners and are marked on United Kingdom Hydrographic Office charts. A statutory instrument shows the location of the site and also the extent of the restricted protected area. This is often done using a buoy, (usually yellow and inscribed 'Protected Wreck') although sites that are close to the shore may have notices on land which not only serve to warn, but often also describe why the wreck is important (e.g. on the National Trust path at the Salcombe Moor Sand / Salcombe Cannon site). Despite this, criminal damage to protected wrecks is reported frequently. Artefacts from the site of the British warship HMS Coronation, off Penlee Point, were allegedly stolen in 2011, and arrests were made in April 2011 over thefts from the warship HMS London. Wrecks designated as dangerous As of July 2008, only two wrecks are designated as dangerous under section 2 of the act. These are the SS Richard Montgomery (designated in 1973), and the SS Castilian (designated in 1997), in both cases due to containing large amounts of explosives. The MV Braer was also protected from 1993, until the order was revoked in 1994. Designation provides for an exclusion zone for all activities around the wreck. Diving is strictly prohibited on these dangerous wrecks. Designation and control under section 2 of the