An interested court case between a private salvor and the State of New York appears to have been settled in favor of the state. The salvor, Northeast Research, claimed the 19th century schooner, which it claims is the Caledonia. They had planned to raise the vessel and display it in a large tank on the Buffalo waterfront. New York State counted that as positive identification of the ship had not been made, the ship was state property under the U.S. Abandoned Shipwreck Act. The judge sided with New York State which wants to leave the wreck in place in 170 feet of water in Lake Erie.
Judge sides with state in legal tug of war over shipwreck in Lake Erie
Nice to see the Abandoned Shipwreck Act getting some cred in court. That isn’t always the case, even in federal court, which should know better. I don’t know enough of the details of this specific case to judge what’s best for the wreck, but legally this seems to be a no-brainer.
The Lake Erie Beacon reported in August 21, 2009 that the ship was found 20 miles off Dunkirk and may be in Canadian waters. Looking at a map this would appear to be the case. Then why isn’t the salvage company applying to Canadian authorities instead of State of New York?
Very interesting question.