Salvage of Wrecks in the Baltic Sea – A Finnish Perspective

Aminoff, Jan

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-75070-5_6

Jan Aminoff⁴

Part of the book series: MARE Publication Series ((MARE,volume 18))

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Abstract

The chapter addresses legislation on the salvage of wrecks. It addresses relevant international and national rules and principles regarding protection of underwater cultural heritage and case law concerning salvage of wrecks and historical wrecks, with the aim of identifying possible gaps in the statutory protection of historical wrecks. Certain examples of how these issues have been addressed in the other Baltic Sea states are provided. The chapter also comments on the rights and obligations of the owners of wrecks and their cargos, on the one hand, and those of the salvors, on the other. The main emphasis is on Finnish law, but many observations are equally valid in other Baltic Sea countries.

Former attorney having practised maritime and transport law for some 38 years; LL.Lic, trained on the bench.

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Notes

1.
J. Aminoff Historic Wrecks and Salvage under Finnish Law – Recent Developments in H. Rak and P. Wetterstein (eds) Shipwrecks in International and National Law (Institute of Maritime and Commercial Law – Åbo Akademi University, 2008) 116; Information received by e-mail in May 2016 from the Finnish National Board of Antiquities.
2.
Swedish National Heritage Board, Fornsök.
3.
B. Grisell and L. Randall Vårt marina arv (available at https://www.abc.se/-pa/publ/grisells.htm) 1.
4.
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
5.
Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, and the Protocol of 1996 to amend the Convention on Liability for Maritime Claims of 19 November 1976.
6.
A. Rosas “Shipwrecks in EU Law” in H. Rak and P. Wetterstein (eds) Shipwrecks in International and National Law (Institute of Maritime and Commercial Law – Åbo Akademi University, 2008) 43–50.
7.
Aminoff, note 1 at 115.
8.
B. Varenius, RUTILUS: Strategies for a Sustainable Development of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Sea Region (Swedish Maritime Museums Report dnr 1267/03–51, 2006) 5.
9.
T. Scovazzi, “Protection of the underwater cultural heritage” in R. Caddell and D.R. Thomas (eds) Shipping, Law and the Marine Environment in the twenty-first Century (Lawtext Publishing Limited, 2013) 293.
10.
Ibid., 295.
11.
Swedish Historic Environmental Act (1988:950) ch. 2 arts. 1(a), 4(2) and 6.
12.
Varenius, note 8 at 18–19, Appendix I 1.1.
13.
Art. 1 (1) of the UNCLOS defines the Area as follows: “Area means the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.” This means the seabed and ocean floor beyond the 200 nautical mile limit.
14.
Scovazzi, note 9 at 298.
15.
Art. 33 of the UNCLOS concerns the right of a coastal State to exercise control to prevent infringements of its customs, fiscal, immigration etc. laws within its territory or territorial sea and to punish infringements of such laws.
16.
Scovazzi, note 9 at 296–297.
17.
Ibid., 297; H. Ringbom, “Wrecks in International Law” in H. Rak and P. Wetterstein (eds) Shipwrecks in International and National Law (Institute of Maritime and Commercial Law, Åbo Akademi University, 2008) 25.
18.
Scovazzi, note 9 at 298.
19.
Scovazzi, note 9 at 299.
20.
Ibid.
21.
FMC ch. 16 art. 1 (1).
22.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO_Convention_on_the_Protection_of_the_Underwater_Cultural_Heritage
23.
Scovazzi, note 9 at 301.
24.
Ringbom, note 17 at 30–31.
25.
The Convention was ratified by Finland on 27 October 2016 and entered into force three months later.
26.
B. Bengtsson Avlägsnande av. vrak Ds 2015:16 (Stockholm, 2015) 44–45.
27.
Arts. 55 and 57 of UNCLOS; art. 1.1 of the WR Convention.
28.
Finnish Draft Government Bill concerning the adoption of the WR Convention 1–2, Bengtsson, note 26 at 4.
29.
H. Tiberg Wrecks and Wreckage in Swedish Waters (published on the website of the institute of Maritime Law and other Transport Law in 2004) 3.
30.
Ibid.; Nordisk Dommesamling i Sjöfartsanliggender 1990 (ND), 8.
31.
P. Wetterstein Redarens miljöskadeansvar (Åbo Akademis förlag - Åbo Akademi University Press, 2004) 323–324.
32.
P. Wetterstein “Vrak och gamla skatter” (2000) 2000:5 Juridiska föreningens tidskrift (JFT) 451–484, at 456.
33.
Finnish Government Bill 97/2006 (Adoption of the Salvage Convention and its incorporation in the Maritime Code), at 22.
34.
Ibid., 23.
35.
Finnish Government Bill, note 33, at 24.
36.
Ibid., 22.
37.
Art. 1(a) of the Salvage Convention refers to “… [I]n navigable waters or in any other waters whatsoever”.
38.
Finnish Government Bill, note 33, at 22.
39.
Wetterstein, note 32 at 455–456.
40.
Turku Court of Appeal, Judgment of 23 March 2005 (S 04/2163), 4.
41.
F. D. Rose Kennedy & Rose Law of Salvage (Sweet & Maxwell, 2002) 106.
42.
Y. Tanaka The International Law of the Sea (Cambridge University Press, 2015) 5–7.
43.
Wetterstein, note 30 at 456–457.
44.
T. Falkanger, H. J. Bull, Sjörett (7. utgave, Sjörettsfondet Akademisk, Oslo, 2010) 451.
45.
ND 1983, 1.
46.
Wetterstein, note 32 at 456.
47.
Wetterstein, note 32 at 461; E. Havansi, Omistusoikeuden hylännästä (Juhlajulkaisu Simo Zitting 1915–14/2–1985) 68.
48.
Wetterstein, ibid., 462–463.
49.
Wetterstein, ibid., 463–464; Sjur Braekhus, Tidssrift for Rettsvitenskap 1975, 518.
50.
Decision of the Vakka-Suomi District Court of 3 July 1998 (98/750).
51.
Judgment of the Turku District Court no 04/4312 of 16 June 2004; Judgment of the Turku Court of Appeal no 787 of 23 March 2005.
52.
Aminoff, note 1 at 126; J. Kaisto and J. Tepora, Esineoikeus eurooppalaistuvassa Suomessa (Lakimiesliiton kustannus 2012) 89, 290.
53.
Decision of the Vakka-Suomi District Court of 3 July 1998 (98/750) 2; Application of the divers attached to the Decision 1–2.
54.
Judgment of the Turku Court of Appeal of 23 March 2005 (S 04/2163), 4–5; Under the Antiquities Act vessels having sunk at least 100 years ago are protected and cannot be touched or disposed of without the consent of the authorities.
55.
Lost Property Act of 26 August 1988/778.
56.
Aminoff, note 1 at 115; Wetterstein, note 32 at 454–455.
57.
International Convention on Maritime Liens and Mortgages, art. 4(c).
58.
S. Braekhus “Bergning” (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo 1971) 54; Wetterstein, note 32 at 458.
59.
Braekhus, note 58 at 55–56; Wetterstein, “Fru Maria och bärgningsrätten-Konflikt mellan privata och allmänna intressen” in Wetterstein Sjörätt med pålägg – Maritime Law with Extras (Institute of Maritime Law – Åbo Akademi University 2015) 226–227.
60.
Wetterstein, note 59 at 226–230; Aminoff, note 1 at 124–125.
61.
Finnish Government Bill, note 33, at 24; the Finnish legislation entered into force on 12 January 2008.
62.
Information received on 30 August 2016 from Professor Alla Pozdnakova, Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, Oslo.
63.
Finnish Government Bill, note 33, at 24; Aminoff, note 1 at 122.
64.
Aminoff, note 1 at 126–128.
65.
Varenius, note 8, Appendix I 1.1 Table 1. The information contained in Table 1 may not be up to date with regard to all mentioned countries (e.g. Sweden) but should be indicative.
66.
Finnish Government Bill, note 33, at 8, 24.
67.
National law in Denmark excludes the collection of a salvage reward with regard to historical wrecks.
68.
Information received on 30 August 2016 from Professor Alla Pozdnakova.
69.
Varenius, note 8 at 21.
70.
Ringbom, note 17 at 27.
71.
Ringbom, note 17 at 27–28.
72.
The UCH Convention might accept national provisions that ensure better protection than those it has adopted (art. 6.1).

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Helsinki, Finland
Jan Aminoff

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Department of Law, Åbo Akademi University, Turku/Åbo, Finland
Henrik Ringbom

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Aminoff, J. (2018). Salvage of Wrecks in the Baltic Sea – A Finnish Perspective. In: Ringbom, H. (eds) Regulatory Gaps in Baltic Sea Governance. MARE Publication Series, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75070-5_6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75070-5_6
Published: 05 April 2018
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75069-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75070-5
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