ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom regulatory regime also addresses the right of the State to claim ownership of wreck and of the regulation of existing wrecks—as opposed to wrecks that pose an immediate hazard at the time of the wrecking event. One of the main results of the Lord Donaldson Review was the creation in 1999 of the post of Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention as a national coordinator for marine emergencies. Many States have adopted national legislation that provides some form of protection for wrecks of historical, archaeological or cultural importance, irrespective of ownership. In 2008, when the wreck operations concerning the Mediterranean Shipping Company Napoli were nearly finished, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency produced a very detailed and thorough report into the response that it took to the wreck. The day-to-day activities of the Receiver of Wreck are concerned primarily with fulfilling duties with respect to dealing with wreck.
