General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Tomb raiders - International Ban on Wreck Diving?
Posted by:
Rob Hoole
()
Date: January 30, 2008 08:43AM
Hello Jeff,
Thank you for your supportive comments. The wrecks of HMS Repulse and her fellow victim HMS Prince of Wales, and the remains of the 840 crew members entombed inside them, are registered "Protected Places" under the UK's Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 found at: [www.england-legislation.hmso.gov.uk].
Sub-section 2(2) of Chapter 35 of the Act makes penetrating or interfering with protected vessels illegal, i.e.
(2) A person contravenes this subsection in relation to any remains—
(a) if he tampers with, damages, moves, removes or unearths the remains;
(b) if he enters any hatch or other opening in any of the remains which enclose any part of the interior of an aircraft or vessel; or
(c) if he causes or permits any other person to do anything falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above.
A list of protected wrecks and protected places can be found at: [www.mcga.gov.uk]. Note that it includes UB-65, UB-81 and U-12. U-12 is described as the WWII "Submarine nominated by German Authorities to represent all others lost within UK jurisdiction."
Unfortunately, the designated maritime war graves of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales lie in international waters so the Act can only be applied to UK citizens, not the US citizens who sought to profit from their reprehensible actions. Short of stationing a Royal Navy warship above the wrecks on a permanent basis, there appears to be no way to deter these ghoulish tourists from performing their grossly disrespectful acts except through pressure of international public opinion. I tried to pursue my argument in the forum of the perpetrator's website at [5thd-x.com] by comparing these wrecks with that of USS Arizona but, like many other objectors including the webmaster of the Force Z Survivors' Association, I was banned from the forum within ten minutes (I am still prevented from even seeing it). Despite e-mailing its webmaster several times over the past few months, I have yet to receive the courtesy of an explanation.
As a final word, I attended the funeral of Arthur 'Ginger' Bryant BEM on Mon 28 Jan. Apart from becoming a highly respected Royal Navy diver after the war, he was one of the few remaining survivors of HMS Barham which was torpedoed by U-331 off Alexandria on 25 Nov 1941 and blew up in spectacular fashion (more about him in the entry for 19 Jan 08 on the 'Latest News' page of the MCDOA website at: [mcdoa.org.uk]). It is for the sake of him, his old comrades and their relatives that I continue to campaign against the disgusting ghoulish behaviour of this minority who give all other divers such a bad name.
Best wishes,
Rob Hoole
[www.mcdoa.org.uk]
Thank you for your supportive comments. The wrecks of HMS Repulse and her fellow victim HMS Prince of Wales, and the remains of the 840 crew members entombed inside them, are registered "Protected Places" under the UK's Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 found at: [www.england-legislation.hmso.gov.uk].
Sub-section 2(2) of Chapter 35 of the Act makes penetrating or interfering with protected vessels illegal, i.e.
(2) A person contravenes this subsection in relation to any remains—
(a) if he tampers with, damages, moves, removes or unearths the remains;
(b) if he enters any hatch or other opening in any of the remains which enclose any part of the interior of an aircraft or vessel; or
(c) if he causes or permits any other person to do anything falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above.
A list of protected wrecks and protected places can be found at: [www.mcga.gov.uk]. Note that it includes UB-65, UB-81 and U-12. U-12 is described as the WWII "Submarine nominated by German Authorities to represent all others lost within UK jurisdiction."
Unfortunately, the designated maritime war graves of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales lie in international waters so the Act can only be applied to UK citizens, not the US citizens who sought to profit from their reprehensible actions. Short of stationing a Royal Navy warship above the wrecks on a permanent basis, there appears to be no way to deter these ghoulish tourists from performing their grossly disrespectful acts except through pressure of international public opinion. I tried to pursue my argument in the forum of the perpetrator's website at [5thd-x.com] by comparing these wrecks with that of USS Arizona but, like many other objectors including the webmaster of the Force Z Survivors' Association, I was banned from the forum within ten minutes (I am still prevented from even seeing it). Despite e-mailing its webmaster several times over the past few months, I have yet to receive the courtesy of an explanation.
As a final word, I attended the funeral of Arthur 'Ginger' Bryant BEM on Mon 28 Jan. Apart from becoming a highly respected Royal Navy diver after the war, he was one of the few remaining survivors of HMS Barham which was torpedoed by U-331 off Alexandria on 25 Nov 1941 and blew up in spectacular fashion (more about him in the entry for 19 Jan 08 on the 'Latest News' page of the MCDOA website at: [mcdoa.org.uk]). It is for the sake of him, his old comrades and their relatives that I continue to campaign against the disgusting ghoulish behaviour of this minority who give all other divers such a bad name.
Best wishes,
Rob Hoole
[www.mcdoa.org.uk]
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