Spain Expressly Abandon’s Its Shipwrecks!

Intro by Pat Clyne

In early 1965 a well known Florida salvor asked his attorney to write to the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C. to determine if he had the right to salvage Spanish shipwrecks. This Salvor and the response he received from Spain’s ambassador, unknowingly to them at the time, was to set a precedent that undoubtedly will be used in a maritime court of law to leave unfettered access of Spain’s wrecks and their cargo to the State of Florida. In turn, Florida’s long tradition of cooperation with private salvors will allow them, with a permit from that State to continue to recover Spanish vessels and their contents legally without having to consult Spain for their “approval”

The argument that has been used in the courts for some time now has been that of semantics. The courts did not easily interpret the word abandonment. Even the Supreme Court of the United States debated the argument over “express” abandonment and “implied’ abandonment. Implied wasn’t good enough, even if a nation made no attempt at salvaging their own vessel which lay rotting on the ocean’s bottom for hundreds of years. In order to truly abandon a vessel you must “express” it in a document. Something similar to, “Hey, we don’t want it, you can have it!” Now, if a country wrote that in a document and signed it, they would have explicitly “EXPRESSED” their feelings of disowning ownership toward that vessel and it’s contents.

In regards to content, cargo or Treasure’s, (a word not often used any longer in the courts because of its lack of archaeological Political Correctness.) if such a document would have also included that wording there would be absolutely no misunderstanding of their intent. The following is the reply our salvor received from the Ambassador of Spain, which is the definitive, official and legal definition of the phrase “Expressed Abandonment.”

Letter From the Ambassador of Spain

Washington, D.C.

January 11, 1965

THE AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN

WASHINGTON. D.C.

Mr. D. Victor de Avenell

3345-14th Street

Vero Beach, Florida 32960

Dear Sir:

Thank you for your kind letter of last December 20, which I read with extreme interest.

The legal question of the ownership of the treasure on the east coast of Florida can raise questions as to whether said state has rights to all or part of it, with or without compensation. I do not know what solution is found to this issue in the applicable law.

In any case, there is no doubt that the Spanish State may not claim any title to said treasure for the following reasons:

1.) If the discovery is considered "marine salvage," the owner of the ship and/or merchandise would have lost all rights because he abandoned any attempt of recovery.

2) If the discovery is considered a discovery of a treasure in the territory (including the territorial waters) under the jurisdiction of a state, in this case the state of Florida, the laws of this state will determine title to the treasure.

In most cases extinctive prescription would act against any right possibly reclaimed by a previous owner.

I thank you again for your interest, and I remain,

Sincerely,

[signature)

Marquis de Morry del Val,

AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN

Click to view a “Copy of Ambassadors original letter in Spanish”