1. Running head: THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 1
The Challenges of Commercial Marine Archaeology
Reed Gonzales
SCIN136
American Military University
Professor Siewert

2. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 2
The Challenges of Commercial Marine Archaeology
Odyssey Marine Exploration announced in May of 2007 that it had discovered nearly
600,000 silver coins weighing more than seventeen tons, as well as hundreds of gold coins and
other artifacts, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (Bluestein, 2011). The Spanish vessel,
“Black Swan” or Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, sank off the coast of Faro, Portugal in 1804
while delivering merchant cargo from South America to Spain. The discovery and salvage led to
a long, grueling court battle with the Spanish government which eventually led to Odyssey
Marine surrendering their find to Spain (Berfield, 2012). Since then, the commercial marine
archaeology company based in Florida, the company has continued to find and salvage old
shipwrecks around the world. One such find in 2011 was the SS Gairsoppa, the British ship
which was found approximately 300 miles off the coast of Ireland and nearly three miles beneath
the ocean surface, after having been sunk by a German submarine in 1941 (Odyssey Marine
Exploration, n.d.). Expensive equipment and technology required for locating and salvaging
shipwrecks, oceanic conditions, and international treaty make this type of business extremely
challenging for those who choose it.
Some of the equipment used for locating the wrecks includes research and salvage ships
with an experienced crew. The ships are outfitted with equipment such as Remotely Operated
Vehicles (ROV) with robotic arms, acoustic equipment such as sonar (ship attached as well as
submersible side-scan sonar equipment), precision depth recorders, and shipboard cranes, to
name a few (Sverdrup & Kudela 124-26, 2013, p. 124-26; Odyssey Marine Exploration, n.d.).
Just as important as the equipment to locate and salvage the wrecks is having a qualified and
experienced crew that understands bathymetric charts and historical ocean data. Any successful
ocean “treasure hunter” knows that all of the equipment in the world would be somewhat useless

3. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 3
if they did not know where to start. The first place a successful explorer must start is at the
library. Why? Because libraries contain the best historical accounts of the ships they are
searching for within a ship’s deck log. Deck logs contain a daily chronology of the certain
events on and around the ship for administrative and legal purposes (Naval History & Heritage
Command [NHHC], 2010). Some examples include: accidents, arrests, collisions, combat,
ceremonies, ships movements, location, and several more (NHHC, 2010). The deck log for a
ship starts from the time it is commissioned and is maintained every hour of every day until the
ship is either lost at sea, sinks, or is decommissioned.
Oceanic conditions present challenges that must also be faced by the explorers. For
starters, locating anything on the ocean floor is best performed using echo-location. This gets
more difficult as the depth of the ocean floor increases. Deep waters not only increase in density
but also contain layers of varying salinity and temperature (Sverdrup & Kudela, 2013, p. 124-
26). Increased density, salinity, and temperature allow for sound to travel fast (Sverdrup &
Kudela, 2013, p. 124). Decreased density, salinity, and temperature have the opposite effect
(Sverdrup & Kudela, 2013, p. 125-26). This causes sound shadow zones and SOFAR channels,
making it difficult to obtain clear and accurate sonar readings (Sverdrup & Kudela, 2013,
p. 126). Other conditions that are faced in deep waters are the extremely cold temperatures and
pressure that make it impossible for traditional scuba diving. If that is not enough of a challenge,
the “motion of the ocean” must also be dealt with. The weather and waves at the surface of the
water is not the only challenge. When a ship is sitting in the water, not making any way, its
relative motion might indicate that it is not moving, but its motion over the earth usually
indicates that it is, in fact, moving. Wind plays a role in the movement of ship but none-so-much

4. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 4
as the current, both at the surface of the ocean and at varying speed and direction at different
depths (Bowditch, 2002, ch. 31).
Like any unavoidable forces and laws of nature, man has created his own forces and laws
of the ocean. The uninhabited appearance of the ocean can easily deceive most people into
believing that there are no boundaries or legal limitations in the vast waters since they are much
less tangible, unlike fences, signs, and the cultural landscape that one would see on land. The
UNCLOS Treaty is one such set of regulations that govern the world’s oceans (Ford, n.d.).
There are several rules and limitation as to what “treasure hunters” can and cannot do with the
artifacts that they find. The rules vary depending on distances from the shores of adjacent states
as well as depths. There are two articles of the treaty, in particular, that stand out:
Article 149
Archaeological and historical objects
All objects of an archaeological and historical nature found in the Area
shall be preserved or disposed of for the benefit of mankind as a whole,
particular regard being paid to the preferential rights of the State or country
of origin, or the State of cultural origin, or the State of historical and
archaeological origin.
Article 303
Archaeological and historical objects found at sea
1. States have the duty to protect objects of an archaeological and
historical nature found at sea and shall cooperate for this purpose.
2. In order to control traffic in such objects, the coastal State may, in
applying article 33, presume that their removal from the seabed in the zone
referred to in that article without its approval would result in an infringement
within its territory or territorial sea of the laws and regulations referred to in
that article.
3. Nothing in this article affects the rights of identifiable owners, the
law of salvage or other rules of admiralty, or laws and practices with respect
to cultural exchanges.
4. This article is without prejudice to other international agreements
and rules of international law regarding the protection of objects of an

5. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 5
archaeological and historical nature. (United Nations, n.d.)
Unlike the laws of nature, man-made laws are always subject to interpretation and amendments.
Although England has the right to claim the SS Gairsoppa, they struck a deal that allows the
Odyssey to keep eighty percent of the profit made from the riches of the ship (Unser, 2013).
Why would England agree to give up eighty percent? The simple answer can be given with
another question. How else are they going to salvage the ship and its contents?
When it comes to the business of treasure hunting at sea, the passion to live such a
lifestyle requires state of the art technology and equipment, a deep respect oceanic conditions
and how to work within them, and an understanding of laws and treaties within. Regardless of
all the legal “red tape” and politics, and no matter how much equipment and technology a
treasure hunter has, a wise hunter will always start in the libraries and archives that contain the
historical logs of the ships.

6. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 6
References
Berfield, S. (2012, June 7). Odyssey and the Lost Spanish Treasure - Businessweek.
Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-
07/odyssey-and-the-lost-spanish-treasure#p1
Bluestein, G. (2011, May 24). Explorers tussle with spain over treasure in court.
Retrieved September 17, 2014, from
https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/attachment/256847/Assignments/51feef81-c354-
4d9a-8734-
baa22206e868/Explorers%20tussle%20with%20Spain%20over%20treasure%20in%20co
urt%20%20US%20National%20Headlines%20%20Comcast_net.mht
Bowditch, N. (2002). Maritime safety information (1). Retrieved from National imagery and
mapping agency website:
http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=msi_portal_page_62
&pubCode=0002
Ford, J. (n.d.). Unclos boundaries [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from
https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/attachment/256847/Assignments/c5d7c5e4-9f92-
4abf-b848-a8a243eeb1c1/UNCLOS%20Boundries..mht
Naval History & Heritage Command. (2010). Ship deck logs. Retrieved September 18, 2014,
from http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq73-1.htm
Odyssey Marine Exploration. (n.d.). Ss gairsoppa - Operational overview.
Retrieved September 17, 2014, from
http://www.shipwreck.net/ssgairsoppaoperationaloverview.php
Sverdrup, K. A., & Kudela, R. M. (2013). The physical properties of water. InInvestigating

7. THE CHALLENGES OF COMMERCIAL MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 7
Oceanography (pp. 124-26). Available from VitalSource Bookshelf
United Nations. (n.d.). United nations convention on the law of the sea. Retrieved September 17,
2014, from
http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf
Unser, D. (2013, July 26). 109 tons of silver recovered from ss gairsoppa shipwreck.
Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.coinnews.net/2013/07/26/109-tons-of-
silver-recovered-from-ss-gairsoppa-shipwreck/