The wrecks lie in oceans and seas across the world, off the coasts of Iceland and China, Mexico and Burma, the Black Sea and North Africa.
But the UK has yet to ratify the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, meaning these hugely important relics of the conflict are not protected properly.
The convention applies to wrecks more than 100 years old, yet the UK is lagging behind other maritime nations in failing to ratify.
The British Academy wants to change that, and some of the country’s leading archaeologists are campaigning to get the UK to sign up now.
Without ratification the UK is largely incapable of offering protection to UK wrecks lying beyond our own waters.
The centenary of the First World War is ample reminder that the remains of many British ships and seafarers rest on the seabed beyond our territorial sea.
It is not just the 1914 to 1918 wrecks that need protection – more than 3,400 Royal Navy vessels have been lost since 1605, as well as numerous merchant ships.
Sir Barry Cunliffe, Emeritus Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford, leads the British Academy steering group calling for ratification.
They argue now is the time for the UK to take advantage of the positive mechanisms set out in the Convention to safeguard the last resting places of so many and ensure that the UK’s interests are fully respected.
He explains that back in 2001 the UK had several objections to ratifying.
“They said they did not think any mileage in it and no-one would ratify it, and while the UK agreed with general principles, there were concerns about how it would work with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“They also thought there might be some area of conflict and creeping jurisdiction and other countries would make claims, and that there might be some conflict with sovereign immunity which covers all UK naval ships.”
While acknowledging those were “respectable doubts”, Sir Barry says the situation has changed markedly.
“Now 45 member states have signed up, in fact the 20th state ratified in 2009, at which point the convention become operative, and there has been quite a rush since then.
“Most of our near maritime neighbours have done so and we hope the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark will do so soon.”
An independent Impact Review
has just been published, which details the UK's routes towards ratification, demonstrating that the reservations previously raised by the UK government are no longer of sufficient concern to oppose ratification.
“That
documentwent through clause by clause to assess the impact, and the conclusion is we have moved on, a number of new laws have been introduced in terms of maritime heritage and after more than 10 years of activity the convention does not have any ill effects.”
The UNESCO Convention sets out basic principles, practical rules and a state cooperation system to protect the world’s underwater cultural heritage sites.
Sir Barry says the UK has “high standards of protection for all underwater for the 10,000 or so wreck sites on the seabed under the United Kingdom's territorial sea. We feel the convention clears up the loose ends.
"There is no doubt that the salvage of some of these historic wrecks is a bit of an issue.
“The 1733 Victory and the 1694 Sussex have been discovered and subject to what an archaeologist would regard as a degree of threat.
“With the Sussex, in 2002 the British government, against the advice of the sector and archaeologists, allowed a commercial savage operation to take 80% of any archaeological objects found.
“That would be unheard of on land and no reason we should allow that at sea.
“Under the convention if anyone wants to work on a wreck they need a proper research design, as they would on land, and can’t be funded by sale of artefacts. We want to ensure that our cultural heritage under the sea is as well looked after as it is on land.
“Recently someone was bringing up the cannon from the Victory, and the UK had to buy the cannon.”
Sir Barry also gives the example of HMS Cressy and her sister ships HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue, who were sunk by a German U-boat in September 1914 off the Dutch North Sea coast, with the loss of 1,450 sailors.
“In 1954 the UK sold them off for scrap, despite the fact they were war graves - we don’t want to see other wrecks being despoiled.”
And today, the technology available such as remote underwater vehicles means salvagers can get “material from wrecks which are in very deep waters indeed”.
The alternative to ratifying the 2001 Convention is for the UK’s position to become increasingly isolated and irrelevant.
Without ratification, the UK will be unable to influence how the new global standard is implemented; and the UK will remain largely incapable of offering effective protection to wrecks of UK origin lying beyond its own waters.
Sir Barry says that three government departments, the FCO, MoD and DCMS all have responsibility in this area.
The British Academy steering committee has written to the various Secretaries of State, and it awaiting their replies.
“We intend to be extremely active on this and not let it go,” Sir Barry says.
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Five key reasons why the UK should ratify the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage:
1. Ratification will help protect historic wrecks of UK origin around the world, including the wrecks of warships, other state vessels, and ships with which the UK declares a ‘verifiable link’.
2. Ratification will make it easier for the UK to manage underwater cultural heritage by making UK waters a ‘no go area’ for treasure hunters and by increasing international recognition of UK interests in wrecks that originated here.
3. Ratification is likely to generate savings and economic benefits by streamlining existing ad hoc arrangements and unlocking the dividend to be gained from recognising underwater cultural heritage as a valuable social and economic resource.
4. Ratification will help the UK to reinforce its interpretation of the international Law of the Sea, and enable the UK to make its case within the Convention’s own institutions.
5. Ratification will enable the UK heritage sector to grow internationally, confirming its leading role in university education and research, and boosting sectors that can benefit from expanding global demand in this sphere.