§2105 Rights of Ownership

Summary

The United States claims ownership of abandoned shipwrecks in three cases: if a wreck is stuck in a State’s submerged lands, if it is stuck in coralline formations those State waters protect, or if it lies in State waters and is listed or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The public must be told where any such wreck is. The Secretary of the Interior must, after talking with the State Historic Preservation Officer, put in writing whether a wreck meets the third condition. When the United States claims title under (a), that title is transferred to the State where the wreck sits. An abandoned wreck on U.S. public land belongs to the United States. An abandoned wreck on Indian land belongs to the tribe that owns the land. This law does not change any rights the United States or any State (including rights related to Indian lands) have under sections 1311, 1313, or 1314 of this title, or sections 414 or 415 of title 33.