Protection of Wrecks Act 1973

Last updated

Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Variant 1, 2022).svg
Long title An Act to secure the protection of wrecks in territorial waters and the sites of such wrecks, from interference by unauthorised persons; and for connected purposes.
Citation 1973 c. 33
Introduced by Iain Sproat
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 10 July 1973
Commencement 10 July 1973
Other legislation
Amended by Marine (Scotland) Act 2010
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.

Contents

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, [1] to Cadw, [2] and formerly by Historic Scotland. [3]

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 formerly by 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 Two sites that had at some point been designated have subsequently been revoked.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 [4] 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, [5] and arrests were made in April 2011 over thefts from the warship HMS London. [6]

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 act is managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Wrecks protected by other means

A number of wreck sites have been protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as maritime scheduled monuments. These are:

All wrecked aircraft and a number of designated military shipwrecks are protected as military maritime graves, i.e. war graves under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. This is administered by the UK Ministry of Defence. [7] Maritime sites other than wrecks, such as fish traps, may also be protected by scheduling.

Lists of wrecks

As of 2011, there were 61 historic protected wreck sites designated in the UK, although this is only a tiny fragment of the wrecks that are known to exist. There are 46 in English and Welsh waters [8] and there were fifteen in Scottish waters eight of these were designated under the 1973 Act, whilst the remains of the German High Seas Fleet are protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. [9] All Scottish designations under the 1973 Act were subsequently revoked in 2013 (see devolution).

There is a searchable list of all protected wreck sites in England available online using the National Heritage List for England. [10] Cadw has a list on its website of the sites in Wales.

Falkland Islands protected wrecks

On 7 July 1977 the legislature of the overseas territory of the Falkland Islands passed an ordinance similar to the UK Protection of Wrecks Act, allowing for the protection of wrecks in colonial waters that are either of historical, archaeological or artistic importance (section 3), or are dangerous (section 4). On 20 October 1983, an order was passed under the ordinance, designating the areas around the wrecks of HMS Ardent and HMS Antelope, lying in Falkland Sound and San Carlos Water, respectively as prohibited places under section 4. On 3 November 2006, an order came into force to designate the area around the wreck of HMS Coventry as a restricted area. These three ships had been sunk during the Falklands War.

Devolution

The Secretary of State's functions under section 1 of the act, regarding the administration of 'wrecks designated by virtue of historical, archaeological or artistic value' were transferred to the Scottish [11] and Welsh [12] governments as a result of devolution in the United Kingdom.

Section 1 no longer applies in Scotland; it was repealed by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, [13] and its provisions replaced by a system of 'historic marine protected areas'. [14] Additionally, an order made in 2013 under the 2010 Act revoked all the original section 1 designation orders that applied to wrecks situated in Scotland. [15]

The administration of 'wrecks designated as dangerous' under section 2 was not devolved and remains a reserved matter as regards Scotland and Wales. [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scheduled monument</span> Legally protected archaeological site or historic building in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listed building</span> Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure."

HMS <i>Colossus</i> (1787) 1787 ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Colossus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Gravesend on 4 April 1787 and lost on 10 December 1798. During her years of service she participated in the Battle of Groix, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, and the Battle of the Nile. While carrying wounded from the latter, she was wrecked at the Isles of Scilly. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

HMY <i>Mary</i> Former Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy

HMY Mary was the first Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy. She was built in 1660 by the Dutch East India Company. Then she was purchased by the City of Amsterdam and given to King Charles II, on the restoration of the monarchy, as part of the Dutch Gift. She struck rocks off Anglesey in thick fog on 25 March 1675 while en route from Dublin to Chester. Although 35 of the 74 crew and passengers were killed as the wreck quickly broke up, 39 managed to get to safety. The remains were independently discovered by two different diving groups in July 1971. After looters started to remove guns from the site, a rescue operation was organized and the remaining guns and other artifacts were taken to the Merseyside Museums for conservation and display. After the passing of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, she was designated as a protected site on 20 January 1974.

HMS <i>Resolution</i> (1667) Ship of the line of the Royal Navy

HMS Resolution was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Harwich Dockyard on 6 December 1667. She was one of only three third-rate vessels designed and built by the noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection of Military Remains Act 1986</span> UK legislation protecting wreckage of military ships and aircraft

The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are automatically protected, but vessels have to be specifically designated. The primary reason for designation is to protect as a 'war grave' the last resting place of British servicemen ; however, the Act does not require the loss of the vessel to have occurred during war.

<i>Hanover</i> (ship)

Hanover was a two-masted brigantine packet ship owned and operated by the Falmouth Post Office Packet Service, which operated between 1688 and 1852.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salcombe Cannon Wreck</span> Marine archaeological site in the Erme Estuary, Devon

The Salcombe Cannon wrecksite is close to two other designated wrecksites in the Erme Estuary which the South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) was licensed to investigate. In 1992 this group described the Salcombe Cannon site as:

HMS <i>Holland 5</i> Submarine of the Royal Navy

Holland 5 was the last of the five Holland-class submarines ordered by the British Admiralty to evaluate the potential of the submarine with the Royal Navy. She was one of the first submarines to be accepted into Royal Navy service, and unique to her class, she carried one of the earliest periscopes. By the time she was launched, a number of A-class submarines had already been ordered to replace this class in navy service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaton Carew Wreck</span>

The Seaton Carew Wreck is a protected wrecksite lying in the intertidal zone at Seaton Carew. Prior to 1996 the wreck had been completely covered by the sand of the beach, but it was exposed in 1996 and 2002 and has been regularly exposed since 2004. The wreck is of a type of vessel known as a collier brig which would have been ubiquitous in the 18th and 19th centuries and is unusual on the North-East coast for the high degree of preservation. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

St Anthony or Santo António was a Portuguese carrack that foundered in Gunwalloe Bay, Cornwall, in 1527 en route from Lisbon to Antwerp. She had a mixed cargo including copper and silver ingots. The wreck was recorded historically, because the salvage of the cargo was the subject of an international dispute that led to a Court of Star Chamber, but the location of the wreck was unknown until 1981. The wreck is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act and is managed by Historic England.

The Diamond was a three-masted square rigger, built in New York City in 1823. She was one of the first ships to operate a regular service for passenger and cargo between Britain and the United States. She sank en route to Liverpool from New York on 2 January 1825 in Cardigan Bay. The alleged wreck site was identified in 2000 and was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on 1 April 2002, the first such designation by the National Assembly for Wales. However, the identification has since been called into question.

The Wheel Wreck is the remains of a shipwreck lying in Crow sound off Little Ganinick in the Isles of Scilly. The wreck site consists of a discrete mound of cargo that appears to consist of numerous sizes of different iron wheels, cogs, clack valves, tubes and boiler pipes. Lead scupper pipes and other small artefact material show the ship was once present, however, not much remains of this vessel today. A Trotmann style anchor lies some 60m from the site, and this along with the cargo, date the site as sometime just after 1835. It has been published that this may be the wreck of the Padstow, however, being lost in 1804 this can not be so as neither boiler tubes or Trotmann anchors were invented back then. The wreck was discovered by local diver Todd Stevens in 2005 and investigated by the archaeological contractor for the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 in 2006. It still remains unidentified. However it is most likely to be a ship called the 'Plenty' which is recorded locally as having sank- "within 1 mile of the principal island" -in 1840.

Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens and by advising central and local government.

HMS Swallow was a brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Richard Symons, Little Falmouth as the packet ship Marquis of Salisbury for Captain Sutton, launched in 1819 and acquired by the Royal Navy in July 1824.

Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) is a charitable trust founded in February 2011, which focuses on investigations into the maritime heritage of the United Kingdom and further afield, through historical and archaeological investigations. MAST uses its profits from contract work as well as donations to fund its charitable aims.

Between 1991-1992 an archaeological site containing tin ingots was uncovered close to West Mary's Rocks in Devon, England. Examination of the site revealed that these ingots may represent a wreck site, or the lost cargo from a ship. The ingots are believed to have been made before 1000 BC, during the later stages of the British Bronze Age. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 24 November 1993. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England. The ingots found here are an important source of knowledge for prehistoric tin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moor Sand site</span>

The remains of a wreck carrying cargo of Middle Bronze Age weapons was found in 1977 off Moor Sand, Gammon Head, South Hams, Devon, England. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 14 February 1978. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England

References

  1. "Protected Wreck sites" . Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  2. "Maritime wrecks". Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  3. "Licensing under Protection of Wrecks Act 1973". historic-scotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2011. Once the system of Historic MPAs has replaced designation under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, wrecks licenses will no longer be required.
  4. "Annual Notices to Mariners" . Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  5. "Warning to divers over protected wreck sites". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  6. "Arrests over historic wreck theft in Thames Estuary". BBC News. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  7. "Friends of war memorials - maritime" . Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  8. "Protected wreck sites FAQS" . Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  9. "Scotland's Historic Wrecks" . Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  10. "Search the List - Find listed buildings, monuments, battlefields and more | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  11. "The Protection of Wrecks (Designation) (England) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 12 September 2004, SI 2004/2395, retrieved 28 April 2024, The functions of the Secretary of State [under section 1] were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998...
  12. "The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 10 March 1999, SI 1999/672 (sch.1), retrieved 28 April 2024, Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c.33) except section 2.
  13. Scottish Parliament. Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended (see also enacted form ), from legislation.gov.uk .
  14. "Licensing under Protection of Wrecks Act 1973". historic-scotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2011. Once the system of Historic MPAs has replaced designation under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, wrecks licenses will no longer be required.
  15. Scottish Parliament. The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (Commencement No. 3 and Consequential Provisions) Order 2013 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  16. "Scotland Act 1998 – Schedule 5 (Reserved matters) – Head E (Transport) – E3. Marine Transport". legislation.gov.uk . The National Archives. 19 November 1998. Retrieved 28 April 2024. The subject-matter of—... (d) section 2 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (prohibition on approaching dangerous wrecks)
  17. "The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 10 March 1999, SI 1999/672 (sch.1), retrieved 28 April 2024, Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c.33) except section 2.