Va. Court Decides Against Shipwreck Hunters

N O R F O L K, Va., Oct. 16 -- Finders keepers — the principle that keepstreasure hunters looking for riches at the bottom of the sea — hastaken a broadside hit in court.

A federal appeals court ruled over the summer that Spain ownsthe wrecks of two Spanish warships that sank off the Virginia coasttwo centuries ago.

The treasure hunter at the center of the case plans to appeal tothe Supreme Court this week. Some say that if the ruling is allowedto stand, it could put countless shipwrecks and perhaps billions inbooty off limits.

“It really is a pretty abrupt turnabout to 300 years oftraditional admiralty law,” said Ben Benson, the disappointedowner of Chincoteague-based Sea Hunt Inc., named for the old TVshow.

Millions in Gold Coins

Traditionally, owners of sunken ships who didn’t look for themwithin a given amount of time gave up their rights to the ships,Benson said. This ruling changes that by saying that a shipwreckhas to be explicitly abandoned in order for someone else to salvageit, he said.

At issue are the submerged wrecks of the frigates Juno and LaGalga, which went down off Assateague Island on the Eastern Shoreof the Chesapeake Bay.

The Juno disappeared during a squall in 1802. According to someaccounts, it carried as much as $500 million in coins and preciousmetals.

La Galga sank during a storm in 1750 a few miles away. Itapparently had no treasure but may have been carrying horses thatwere ancestors to the wild ponies that wander Assateague Islandtoday.

Benson found what he believes are the wrecks of the two ships,and he obtained salvage rights from the state of Virginia in returnfor 25 percent of any profits.

Spain Stepped In

In 1998, however, Spain claimed ownership of the vessels — thefirst such claims the country had made in hundreds of years. TheU.S. government supported Spain, arguing that allowing the salvageof foreign warships would subject U.S. vessels to the same fate.