Salvaging and preservation

The Swedish Coast Guard apprehended the divers in July 2020, as they were found retrieving artifacts from a wreck off the Baltic island of Öland. A subsequent house search uncovered a large number of objects, which were suspected to originate from wrecks classified as protected. Among the objects was an iron cannon dated to the 17th century.

The indictment includes ten charges for incidents during a number of dives that took place from 2013 to 2020. Two of the men stand charged on all counts. 

At the time of its designation in 2021, the sanctuary included 36 known shipwrecks dating from the 1830s to the 1930s, including Wisconsin's two oldest known shipwrecks, the schooners Gallinipper, which was constructed in 1833 and sank in 1851, and Home, which was built in 1843 and sank in 1858.

On 18 March 2020, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard issued the following tweet. "It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to close all of the sites of The National Museum of the Royal Navy. This is a difficult decision but we've done so with the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors in mind." Director General Dominic Tweddie

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England stated "Our historic places bring us together. It is vital that they survive intact. Our emergency grants are providing a much-needed safety net to organisations and businesses that are helping to save our most precious heritage.”

The grant from Historic England is very timely and much appreciated. Mary Rose Trust