Extra protection for HMS Jason, Hawke and other Royal Navy shipwrecks to shelter them from 'illegal activity'
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Multiple shipwrecks in British waters will receive extra protection under new laws.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is extending protection to a slew of vessels lost around the UK. These cover wrecks ships assigned to the Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and the allied navies of France, Canada, and others.
The government body said more than two dozen shipwrecks now enjoy extra safeguards from illegal activity. Legislation is covered by the Protection of Military Remains Act, which also covers more than 100 vessel remains across the globe.
Recent First World War wrecks are covered by the changes, including HMS Jason, Hawke and Nottingham after they were located by civilian dive teams off the Scottish coast. USCG Cutter Tampa is also included.
The ship was sunk by a U-boat about 45 miles northwest of Land’s End while escorting a convoy to Milford Haven in September 1918. All 131 men aboard (111 Coast Guard sailors, four US Navy and 16 Royal Navy personnel) were lost.
The Act was introduced 40 years ago, with additional sites added – this is the eighth tranche of new wrecks. Remains of military aircraft and vessels on the seabed are treated either as “protected places”, or “controlled sites” where people need permission from the MoD before any diving activity.
The vast majority of divers act responsibly, but over the past 25 years, at least 3,000 items have been recovered from either sunken Royal Navy ships or vessels requisitioned by the government in wartime. Two of the most famous wrecks in UK waters – battleships HMS Vanguard and Royal Oak in Scapa Flow, which blew up in Cromarty Firth – are already designated ”controlled sites”. The exclusion zone around both sites is being extended for better protection.
The wrecks HMS Cobra off the Lincolnshire coast, and two Canadian vessels, HMCS Regina which was sunk north of Padstow, and Trentonian - lost off Mevagissey - will be added to the list of controlled sites. Protection prevents anyone from unlawfully interfering with the remains of vessels lost in military service, with investigations and prosecutions possible.
New proposals in the Armed Forces Bill, currently going through parliament, aim for all military shipwrecks to receive automatic protection as “protected places”.