In maritime law, flotsam,jetsam,lagan, and derelict are specific kinds of shipwreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. [1] A shipwreck is defined as the remains of a ship that has been wrecked, whether it has sunk or is floating on the surface of the water. [2]
A wreck is categorized as property belonging to no apparent owner that either sinks to the seabed or floats on the surface of the water, whether it be intentionally cast overboard or as the result of an accident. The term encompasses the hull of the vessel and its fixtures as well as any other form of object on board, such as cargo and stores, and personal effects of the crew and passengers. [3] This also encompasses the narrower definition of salvage, that is, property that has been recovered from a wreckage, or the recovery of the ship itself.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the formation of a shipwreck, which can be divided into physical and cultural processes. A site can be affected by physical processes, that is, naturally occurring processes, such as the corrosion caused by salinity and ocean currents, or the growth of native and foreign marine organisms. It can also be affected by cultural processes, that is, by human interactions, such as adding or removing materials from the site of the wreck. Any archaeological activity, such as excavation, may also be considered invasive and tampering. [4]
In maritime law, different meanings are attributed to the terms, based on jurisdiction as well as context. For example, a distinction is made between goods that wash ashore and those that are for some reason not salvageable and/or lost at sea.
Ownership of a wreck is a highly controversial issue, as there are no clear lines within which it is defined. It may be acquired through various means that range from succession to confiscation. There is also a distinction to be made between the ownership of the hull itself and the cargo it contains, as the hull may be abandoned intentionally, whereas the cargo may be out of necessity (in the case of an emergency or the need to shed weight from the vessel). In these parameters, abandonment of the ship by its passengers constitutes a loss of possession, but to abandon the claim on the title itself, intention to relinquish it is required. This affects wrecks by limiting that which is considered "abandoned". Generally, a ship is defined as "abandoned" if there is no hope of recovery, known legally as sine spe recuperandi (which is the Latin phrase for "without hope of recovery"), and this fact must be clearly proven by the salvaging party. It must also occur on navigable waters.
The term "salvage" is used to indicate a salvage operation, as well as the subsequent awarded compensation. It is considered a voluntary service rendered in cases such as danger to the wreck, or the surrounding navigable waters. In terms of compensation, it is seen as being awarded to anyone who voluntarily assisted in the recuperation of the wreck, whether it be saved from upcoming danger, or from loss.
The law of salvage has its origins in the Roman practice of negotiorum gestio , which dictated that one who preserved or improved upon the property of another was owed compensation from the owner, even if the service was not requested by the latter. The law did not apply to maritime regulations, but were the basis for following ordinances, such as the Marine Ordinance of Trani, which stated that a "finder" was to be rewarded, whether the owner claimed the goods or not. The laws have evolved since negotiorum gestio, and today, in the United States, a salvor who voluntarily brings the goods back into port may legally lay claim to them, or deliver them to a marshal, in return for a reward. [5]
Flotsam /ˈflɒtsəm/ (also known as "flotsan") refers to goods from a sunken vessel that have floated to the surface of the sea, or any floating cargo that is cast overboard. [5]
In maritime law, flotsam pertains to goods that are floating on the surface of the water as the result of a wreck or accident. One who discovers flotsam is allowed to claim it unless someone else establishes their ownership of it. [6] Even when the source is known, items may be considered flotsam claimable by the finder. This occurred with up to 110 cargo containers lost by MSC Zoe in heavy seas in January 2019 off the German shore of Borkum; the lost goods found on the Dutch coast were considered flotsam. [7]
Jetsam /ˈdʒɛtsəm/ designates any cargo that is intentionally discarded from a ship or wreckage. Legally jetsam also floats, although floating is not part of the etymological meaning. [8] Generally, "jettisoning" connotes the action of throwing goods overboard to lighten the load of a ship in danger of sinking. [5]
Per maritime law, one who discovers these artifacts is not required to return them to their rightful owner except in the case where the latter makes a proper claim. [6]
However, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "flotsam may be claimed by the original owner, whereas jetsam may be claimed as property of whoever discovers it". [9]
Lagan /ˈlæɡən/ (also called "ligan") are goods cast overboard and heavy enough to sink to the ocean floor, but linked to a floating marker, such as a buoy or cork, so that they can be found again by the person who marked the item. Lagan can also be large objects trapped within the sinking vessel. [5]
According to maritime law, a buoy or other floating object constitutes sufficient grounds for laying claim to an artifact. Lagan must be returned to the rightful owner. [6]
Derelict can refer to goods that have sunk to the ocean floor, relinquished willingly or forcefully by its owner, and thus abandoned, but which no one has any hope of reclaiming.
In terms of maritime law, derelict is considered property abandoned on navigable waters which has no hope of being recovered, or sine spe recuperandi, and no expectation of it being returned to its owner, or sine animo revertendi. [5]
Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore-side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes. A specialty within maritime archaeology is nautical archaeology, which studies ship construction and use.
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately three million shipwrecks worldwide as of January 1999, according to Angela Croome, a science writer and author who specialized in the history of underwater archaeology.
Nuestra Señora de Atocha was a Spanish treasure galleon and the most widely known vessel of a fleet of ships that sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. At the time of her sinking, Nuestra Señora de Atocha was heavily laden with copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, and indigo from Spanish ports at Cartagena and Porto Bello in New Granada and Havana, bound for Spain. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was named for the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha in Madrid, Spain. It was a heavily armed Spanish galleon that served as the almirante for the Spanish fleet. It would trail behind the other ships in the flotilla to prevent an attack from the rear.
A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the Flying Dutchman, or a physical derelict found adrift with its crew missing or dead, like the Mary Celeste. The term is sometimes used for ships that have been decommissioned but not yet scrapped, as well as drifting boats that have been found after breaking loose of their ropes and being carried away by the wind or the waves.
Lagan may refer to:
The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with maritime wrecks and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage. In the United Kingdom, the Receiver of Wreck is also appointed to retain the possession of royal fish on behalf of the British crown.
A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground.
A droit is a legal title, claim or due.
Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, lifting a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Protecting the coastal environment from oil spillages or other contaminants from a modern ship can also be a motivator, as oil, cargo, and other pollutants can easily leak from a wreck.
The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was an iron-hulled steam-powered passenger ship, launched in 1878, which sailed between San Francisco and various Asian Pacific ports. On 22 February 1901, the vessel sank after striking a submerged reef at the entry to San Francisco Bay while inward bound from Hong Kong. Of the approximately 220 passengers and crew on board, fewer than 85 people survived the sinking, while 135 others were killed in the catastrophe. The wreck lies in 287 feet (87 m) of water just off the Golden Gate and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as nationally significant.
The archaeology of shipwrecks is the field of archaeology specialized most commonly in the study and exploration of shipwrecks. Its techniques combine those of archaeology with those of diving to become Underwater archaeology. However, shipwrecks are discovered on what have become terrestrial sites.
Negotiorum gestio is a form of spontaneous voluntary agency in which an intervenor or intermeddler, the gestor, acts on behalf and for the benefit of a principal, but without the latter's prior consent. The gestor is only entitled to reimbursement for expenses and not to remuneration, the underlying principle being that negotiorum gestio is intended as an act of generosity and friendship and not to allow the gestor to profit from his intermeddling. This form of intervention is classified as a quasi-contract and found in civil-law jurisdictions and in mixed systems.
MSC Napoli was a United Kingdom-flagged container ship that developed a hull breach due to rough seas and slamming in the English Channel on 18 January 2007. She was deliberately run aground at Lyme Bay to avoid an environmental disaster and broken up by salvors.
The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is an act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom in 1995. It consolidated much of the UK's maritime legislation, repealing several Acts in their entirety and provisions in many more, some dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. It appoints several officers of Admiralty Jurisdiction such as the Receiver of Wreck. The act of 1995 updates the prior Merchant Shipping Act 1894. The lead part on British ships was impacted by the outcome of the Factortame case, as the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 was impugned by the Common Fisheries Policy.
The SS Islander was a 1519-ton, 240-foot (73 m) steel hull, schooner-rigged twin-screw steamer, built in Scotland in 1888, and owned and operated by the Canadian-Pacific Navigation Company.
SS Comet was a steamship that operated on the Great Lakes. Comet was built in 1857 as a wooden-hulled propeller-driven cargo vessel that was soon adapted to carry passengers. It suffered a series of maritime accidents prior to its final sinking in 1875 causing the loss of ten lives. It became known as the only treasure ship of Lake Superior because she carried 70 tons of Montana silver ore when it sank. The first attempts to salvage its cargo in 1876 and 1938 were unsuccessful. Comet was finally salvaged in the 1980s when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society illegally removed artifacts from the wreck. The artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The fate of her silver ore cargo is unknown. Comet's wreck is now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.
The law of salvage is a principle of maritime law whereby any person who helps recover another person's ship or cargo in peril at sea is entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property saved.
Shipwrecking is an event that causes a shipwreck, such as a ship striking something that causes the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance, resulting in a lack of seaworthiness; or the destruction of a ship either intentionally or by violent weather.
Gallinipper was a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Centerville, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. In 2010, the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Flotsam is goods from a sunken vessel that have floated to the surface of the sea, or any floating cargo that is cast overboard.
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
