Not yet, but soon.
HMS Victory Project
We discovered and conducted a preliminary investigation of the shipwreck of Admiral Balchin’s HMS Victory (which sank in 1744) during our 2008 “Atlas” season and we have been cooperating closely with the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence (the “MOD”) on the project. All activities at the site, including the recovery of two bronze cannon, have been conducted in accordance with protocols approved by the UK Government and Royal Navy officials. The Victory discovery was announced publicly February 2, 2009. On September 18, 2009, we announced an agreement with the UK Government on an 80% salvage award for the cannon recovered from the site. We have since received the cash payment as compensation under that agreement.
On March 25, 2010, the MOD and the Department for Culture Media and Sport published an official consultation document with a deadline for public submissions of June 30, 2010. Odyssey submitted a document to this process that included a proposal for additional archaeological work on the site.
Although the UK is not a signatory to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (“CPUCH”) and therefore not bound by CPUCH, Odyssey’s proposal is consistent with the archaeological principles of the Rules of CPUCH.
