Posted on: November 4, 2024 by Paul Stevenson
This year I’ve written about the Colombian government’s planned recovery of artefacts from the wreck of the San José, hailed as “the most valuable shipwreck in the world”. As an international investor-state arbitration proceeds in the Hague, the wreck continues to make headlines. Reports earlier in the summer indicated that the first robotic exploration of […]
Posted on: July 1, 2024 by Paul Stevenson
Earlier this year, I noted reports that the Colombian government planned to seek to recover artefacts from the wreck of the San José, lost in 1708 with nearly 600 souls and now lying approximately 16 miles off the city of Cartagena. Further reports at the end of last month suggest that the Colombian government has […]
Posted on: January 8, 2024 by Paul Stevenson
Readers will doubtless recall fictional archaeologist explorer Indiana Jones’ quest to find the holy grail, a cup providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance and, by analogy, an elusive object or goal of great significance. Readers may also recall that some time ago on this blog (2018 indeed) I noted that UNESCO had weighed […]
Posted on: July 24, 2023 by Paul Stevenson
Media reports in recent weeks have reminded us of a fascinating case study on contested heritage rights, shipwrecks and salvage. Vaunting a proposal to smelt down a bronze eagle which formerly adorned a Nazi warship, the President of Uruguay has found himself in the middle of a cultural heritage storm, having opined that: “It occurred […]
Posted on: May 28, 2020 by Paul Stevenson
Readers will recall the lore surrounding Titanic’s Marconi wireless operators, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, who, it is said, famously stayed at their post sending distress messages whilst the Atlantic Ocean lapped at their feet. There has been conflicting and contradictory information about the demise of Phillips and Bride. Bride survived but it is almost […]
Posted on: January 28, 2020 by Paul Stevenson
Everyone knows that the wreck of RMS Titanic is special. Media reports have confirmed as much over the past week, which has seen reports about the wreck site and a bespoke international compact relating to the ill-fated vessel make headlines. As media reports have confirmed, a treaty negotiated in 2003 (Agreement Concerning the Shipwrecked Vessel […]
Posted on: March 17, 2016 by Paul Stevenson
West Sussex-based marine consulting and operations company, Blue Water Recoveries, has announced the find of (probably) the Portuguese East Indiaman, the Esmeralda. Although not certain, it is thought to be very likely that the wreck, which lies off the coast of Oman, is the 500 year-old wreck of the vessel believed to have been commanded […]
Posted on: September 26, 2014 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
As previously hinted at, there will be an Institute of Art and Law Study Forum in London on Saturday, October 18 2014, from 10.00 to 5.00. The Study Forum will provide a unique foray into the different areas of law that intersect with art and cultural heritage. The presenters at the event and the titles to their papers […]