Chapter 149: Discovering an Unsalvageable Shipwreck
Chen Zetao looked at Xiao Peng and Zhang Cuijian. "That's enough, both of you. Stop playing tricks on me, okay? Tell me in simple terms what this paperweight is all about."
Xiao Peng and Zhang Cuijian answered in unison: "Cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace!"
"Fuck!" Chen Zetao burst out cursing in Chinese and jumped up from his chair. "Brother Xiao, are you sure?"
Zhang Cuijian explained, "The Ansaldo was a steamship that once carried Italian soldiers to China. It returned home carrying a large quantity of treasure, but its whereabouts remain unknown after entering the Strait of Gibraltar. Some suspect that the commander of the Royal Military Police, Pierto Vili, led his men in a mutiny over the ship's treasures. However, after searching for hundreds of years, the ship's whereabouts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the only conclusion was that it had sunk. To this day, no one has found the ship."
Xiao Peng continued, "I did find the 'Ansaldo,' but I didn't salvage it. I only brought this thing up. I don't know what to do about this. Can you give me some advice?"
Chen Zetao and Zhang Cuijian fell silent together.
What should we do about this?
There’s nothing I can do!
As Zhang Cuijian said: If this matter is not handled properly, it will be infamous for eternity.
Along with the international salvage of underwater artifacts, countless disputes also exist. In a world where everyone is driven by profit, there are countless cases of people falling out over money.
Speaking of this, we have to mention the American Odyssey Ocean Expeditions Company.
When they were searching for the British shipwreck 'Sussex', they accidentally discovered an ancient shipwreck in the Strait of Gibraltar, and on this ship they found gold and silver coins worth 500 million US dollars!
Logically speaking, Odyssey Ocean Exploration Company has made a fortune, right?
The result was countless troubles, and I almost went bankrupt because of it.
This wealth was so valuable that many people, including the Spanish government, set their sights on it. They said the ship was their warship "Mercedes", which was sunk by the British in 1804, so the treasure on the ship should belong to Spain!
Odyssey would certainly not want to do that. First of all, there is no evidence to prove that the ship is their country's 'Mercedes'; and even if the ship is a Spanish ship, it sank in the high seas, and Odyssey should be able to retain 90% of the treasure; the most important thing is: according to the "International Salvage Convention", warships of other countries cannot be salvaged at will, as they are national heritage. But even if the shipwreck is indeed the Spanish 'Mercedes' and is indeed their warship, the transportation of currency is a commercial act, and according to the convention, commercial shipwrecks should belong to the salvors.
However, Odyssey ultimately lost the case for two reasons: Under international law, warships are considered state property, and "state property never changes ownership." Therefore, no matter how long the ship had been submerged, it belonged to Spain. Furthermore, Odyssey's argument that "transporting currency was a commercial activity" was untenable, as transporting currency during wartime was also a state activity, not a commercial one.
The impact of this case on the global deep-sea salvage industry is profound. The ruling has also led many salvagers to conceal their findings, which is detrimental to cultural heritage protection. The salvaged items are also circulated on the black market.
But no matter what, all underwater salvage companies work based on international law, international maritime law, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In addition, there is a principled provision, the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This is a red line that no underwater salvage company can cross.
Xiao Peng's discovery of the "Ansaldo" was not a surprise but a shock to him.
As he himself said, if he fails to handle this matter well, he will be 'infamous forever'.
Xiao Peng faced a big problem: the Ansaldo was an Italian warship! Although it was filled with Chinese cultural relics, these cultural relics belonged to Italy!
What Xiao Peng didn't mention is that the shipwreck is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea! That's Italian territorial waters, not the high seas.
Xiao Peng hasn't yet announced the shipwreck location where the Mata Hari jewels are being salvaged, but he's definitely going to do so. This is a rule that deep-sea salvage companies must adhere to. And if they do, they'll have to give the French government 10% of the profits. Is he going to salvage the Ansaldo? He'll also have to announce the location of that shipwreck, otherwise the artifacts inside won't be visible.
But what if the location of the shipwreck was made public? These artifacts would become Italy's treasure! If that were to happen, Xiao Peng would be infamous forever! Therefore, even after discovering the Ansaldo, Xiao Peng didn't dare salvage it.
But! But! But!
Let these cultural relics lie quietly on the seabed?
The cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace are so important to China! To the Chinese people, their value is more than just cultural relics!
More than 1.5 million cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace were looted overseas. Over the years, patriotic people have spent high prices to bring various cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace back to China!
But this is just a drop in the bucket! Too many cultural relics have been lost.
In fact, according to the provisions of the international law "Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" and its "Additional Protocol", the act of occupying another country's territory and looting cultural property should, in theory, require the return of cultural relics when the hostilities end.
However, this regulation was issued after the plundering of the Old Summer Palace, so foreigners simply refuse to recognize it!
Who would be willing to take out the wealth once it’s in their pockets? Even Peking University has dozens of Yuanmingyuan cultural relics on its campus that they are unwilling to return, let alone foreigners.
Of course, those cultural relics were a treasure trove for Peking University, but if they were given to Italy? Xiao Peng would rather let the ship sink in the sea for ten thousand years!
Xiao Peng pointed at the cloisonné paperweight on the table and asked, "Brother Chen, Brother Zhang, I feel a little uncomfortable carrying this secret alone. Please help me share it. Of course, I'm also putting this on hold: I will not take any responsibility for this matter once it gets out of this door."
Chen Zetao took out his phone to take a picture of the paperweight, but Xiao Peng put it away: "It's better not to take pictures of this. I really don't want too many people to know about this. I said I will not take responsibility for this matter!"
"Hey, Brother Xiao, don't be nervous. If I don't take this photo and show it to some people back home, how can I be sure of what to do?" Chen Zetao said, "Actually, it would be better if I had this cloisonné paperweight, but you won't give it to me. Do you have any other evidence? It's hard to convince some people back home with just this photo."
Xiao Peng smiled and put the cloisonné paperweight back into the box. "Whether they believe it or not is their business. Brother Chen, you and I both know this is a huge problem. I've discovered a shipwreck that can't be salvaged. Now let me tell you what's going on. From the sound of your voice, do you have connections back home? Then let them worry about it!"
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