§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice was(a) sought from and (b) given by the 322W Cultural Property Unit of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to his Department in connection with the proposed partnering agreement between the Government and Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. to salvage antiquities from a wreck believed to be that of the 17th century warship, Sussex. [82980]
§ Dr. MoonieAdvice was sought from the Department for National Heritage, now part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), from an early stage on the implications of the agreement with Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc, and DCMS has been represented on an inter departmental Project Board which has given consideration to all aspects of the project.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a UK Government archaeological observer will be on board vessels deployed by Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. to monitor their operation in relation to salvaging from the wreck believed to be that of the 17th century warship, Sussex. [82981]
§ Dr. MoonieThe licence agreement provides for officially appointed observers to be on board the vessel during the whole exploration and recovery process at sea
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision has been made to terminate the contract with Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. if the salvage operation on the wreck believed to be that of the 17th century warship fails to meet established standards of archaeological research. [82982]
§ Dr. MoonieThe licence agreement requires that Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc produce a detailed project plan, covering all aspects of the project, which must be approved by the Government Departments involved before any excavation can take place. The project plan will be subject to scrutiny by an independent archaeological review group, to be chaired by English Heritage, to ensure that it complies with appropriate standards of archaeological research. If, following further discussion with the company, these standards cannot be guaranteed at the review stage, the Ministry of Defence has the option to terminate the agreement. The licence agreement also includes provision for termination in the event of any serious breach by Odyssey of any of its obligations that has not been remedied as soon as reasonably practicable upon receipt of written notification of such a breach.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the contract between the Government and Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. for salvage operations on the wreck believed to be that of the 17th century warship Sussex. [82984]
§ Dr. MoonieI am unable to place a copy of the Licence Agreement in the Library in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information which relates to a Third Party's commercial confidences. I will, however, place in the Library of the House a copy of The Partnering Agreement Memorandum and a synopsis of the archaeological requirements of the agreement.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which body will be responsible for assessing artefacts recovered from the wreck believed to be that of the 323W 17th century warship Sussex to establish (a) their archaeological significance and (b) the most appropriate means of retention or disposal under the terms of the partnering agreement between Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. and the UK Government. [82985]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport and English Heritage will be consulted prior to any final decision on retention and disposal of items recovered from the wreck. We are committed to ensuring that every effort is made to consult public museums with relevant collecting interests.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department first entered into discussion with Marine Odyssey Exploration Inc. in relation to proposals to salvage antiquities from the historic wreck believed to be that of the 17th century warship Sussex. [82986]
§ Dr. MoonieThe company first expressed an interest in locating the wreck and salvaging its cargo in 1995. The company requested permission to search for the wreck in 1998, and was informed that the Ministry of Defence had no objection to this. The MOD's position throughout has been that no agreement of any sort could be considered unless and until the wreck had been located and identified. Detailed discussions began, following the location of the wreck, in September 2002.