recent storms

[devonwoody]

Heard on the aussie tv about bad storms end of last week, any information on the Torbay area would be of interest to me.

As regards ourselves we have got some forest fires about 10 miles north of Sydney. Temps reached 38c yesterday.

 

[Guy]

Howdy there, The only news from that part of the world is a cargo ship is sinking off Sidmouth carrying dangerous chemicals http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,, ... 62,00.html

 

[Jorden]

The 'Receiver of Wrecks' was on TV this morning asking people to stop taking salvage off the beach as they want it back She seemed to be using some very carefully constructed sentences to make out that picking up salvage was illegal....... The broadcast went on to say the dangerous chemicals - oil and diesel - were being pumped off the ship today. I wonder what the locals managed to snag before the revenuers got there

Dennis

 

[woodbloke]

I would be interested to know the legal position on this. If the containers (or any thing else for that matter) are washed up on a beach, is it classified as 'flotsam and jetsom' (not sure of spelling) and as such, available free and gratis for anyone to take away? - Rob

 

[NickWelford]

They also said that some of the containers carried BMW motorcycles.... woohoo I could do with another one.......

 

[woodbloke]

...no chance of any Ferrari's in one of them containters I'spose :roll: - Rob

 

[Jake]

It isn't finder's keepers. Salvage law gives a right to reward to the salvor, but it doesn't transfer ownership to the salvor. So if you find something washed ashore and want to claim salvage you have to report the find to the "Receiver of Wrecks" and it is apparently a criminal offence not to. The Receiver then reunites the stuff with its owner (if it can, if it can't then eventually it sells the stuff, and the finder gets the proceeds, minus costs), and will ensure the salvor gets a reward from the owner.

Just taking the stuff would, I guess, be theft - taking someone else's property with the intention to permanently deprive.

IAALBTINMAOE (I am a lawyer but this is not my area of expertise)

 

[Alf]

Yeah, the local telly reports have been very clear that unless you report what you've salvaged it's theft. Can't say as it's noticeable that anyone's ever taken any action about that before, but then it's not often you get BMW bikes washed up on the beach. Too bad it's on the Devon coast - the beaches in Cornwall are much more secluded...

Cheers, Alf

 

[mailee]

It is the same procedure with anything found in the sea of any value. If I had dived a wreck and found some 'treasure' I am legally bound to hand it to the Reciever of Wrecks who will attempt to find the legal owner. As has been mentioned if the legal owner can't be found then the item is sold and you recieve a reward. Sometimes it can be quite a sum too depending on the item in question and it's value.

 

[Roger]

Just wish I was close for the real prizes ........

Wood and more Wood

 

[ByronBlack]

This would put me off a little:

Historian Richard Larn, of Charleston Shipwreck Museum, said: "There is only one known instance of anybody being sentenced for wrecking in Cornwall."

But he added: "That person was sentenced to death."

:lol: :lol:

 

[MrJay]

As I understand things: wandering around the beach recovering salvage is perfectly legal. One is then obligated to pass your salvage to Her Majesty's Receiver of Wrecks, but oddly there is no time limit for doing so.

Wrecking isn't quite the same thing as recovering salvage. Wrecking involves wrecking a boat with the intention of then recovering the salvage.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Just heard the latest news, people are busy cleaning the beach of new motor cycles :lol: Probably all Hondas or Yamahas :lol:

 

[MrJay]

"Around 50 BMW motorbikes were carried off the beach last night," :shock:

 

[Alf]

Probably a load of Cornishmen nipped up the A30... :wink:

But this is interesting:

Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, it is an offence for people to remove items from a wreck if they conceal or keep possession of cargo and refuse to surrender it, police said.

But they're not actually taking anything from the wreck though, are they? It's off the wreck and on the beach. I'm confused and don't know whether I can legally keep this motorbike now or not...* :-k

Cheers, Alf

*Lest some minion of HM Receiver of Wrecks is reading this, that's a joke.

 

[Waka]

Probably a load of Cornishmen nipped up the A30... :wink:

But this is interesting:

Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, it is an offence for people to remove items from a wreck if they conceal or keep possession of cargo and refuse to surrender it, police said.

But they're not actually taking anything from the wreck though, are they? It's off the wreck and on the beach. I'm confused and don't know whether I can legally keep this motorbike now or not...* :-k

Cheers, Alf

*Lest some minion of HM Receiver of Wrecks is reading this, that's a joke.

Alf

You'll probably have to give at least one back.

 

[Shultzy]

It has also been reported that there were a number of top of the range Mercedes, it would be nice to watch one of those coming up the beach. :lol:

 

[JFC]

Receiver of Wreck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Receiver of Wreck is an official of the British government whose main task is to process incoming reports of wreck in order to:

Give legitimate owners the opportunity to retrieve their property
Ensure that law-abiding finders of wreck receive an appropriate reward
This involves researching ownership, liaising with the finder and the owner, and other interested parties, such as archaeologists and museums.

Under British law, the Receiver of Wreck is also to be notified about beached whales, dolphins, porpoises and sturgeon (royal fish) and on the disposal of whale carcasses impeding shipping lanes in British waters.

Operating on behalf of the Department of Transport, the Receiver of Wreck is located within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Until 1993 the job was carried out by numerous coastal customs officials. Nowadays, the Receiver is based in Southampton and is helped by local outposts of Her Majesty's Coastguard.

The current Receiver of Wreck is Sophia Exelby.


[edit] What is wreck?
According to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, wreck is:

Flotsam - Flotsam are goods lost from a ship which has sunk or otherwise perished which are recoverable because they have floated.
Jetsam - Jetsam are goods cast overboard (jettisoned) in order to lighten a vessel which is in danger of sinking, even if they ultimately perish.
Derelict - Derelict is property which has been abandoned and deserted at sea by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it. This includes vessels and cargo.
Lagan - Lagan (or ligan) are goods cast overboard from a ship, which afterwards perish, buoyed so that they can be recovered later.

[edit] The requirements of UK law
It is a legal requirement that all recovered wreck landed in the United Kingdom is reported to the Receiver of Wreck, whether recovered from within or outside UK waters and even if the finder is the owner. The Receiver of Wreck will investigate ownership. The owner has one year in which to come forward and prove title to the property. During this period it is common for the finder to hold the wreck on behalf of the Receiver of Wreck while investigations are carried out.

Wreck which remains unclaimed after a year becomes the property of the Crown and the Receiver of Wreck is required to dispose of it. Often the finder is allowed to keep items of unclaimed wreck in lieu of a salvage award.


[edit] External references
Wreck report form (PDF document)
Marine and Coastguard Agency
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receiver_of_Wreck"
Category: Law of the sea
:roll:

 

[syntec4]

Alf, dont hold onto that BMW - avoid getting in trouble and have it delivered to me.

I did have a bit of trouble with the heavy rain here in Manchester.

This was outside the workshop yesterday :shock:

 

[Guy]

Used to live around that area years ago, its a nice place. Been trying to call my brother but i guess he must be down there seeing what he can get. all i wont is a nice beema bike.