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SOLEMN STEPS
IN THE
GRAVEYARD
NIGEL EATON, EDITOR
Any sense of relief among divers that the recent moves by the Ministry of Defence to limit access to military wrecks have not been more far-reaching should be tempered by a realisation that the new designations are unsatisfactory in several ways.
The idea behind the measures was simple - to show respect for military personnel lost at sea by restricting access to the vessels on which they died. Following many months of consultation and debate, Defence Under Secretary Dr Lewis Moonie has recommended the designation of 21 military wrecks - all sunk within the past 100 years - for protection from interference by sport divers and commercial salvors.
There is good sense in much of the thinking. But the practicalities were never straightforward, and questions remain, both moral and pragmatic. Why, for instance, in the case of the four designated vessels outside British waters, is it thought reasonable for access to be denied solely to British subjects and British-flagged vessels?
Why, as we have said before, should lives lost on military wrecks be set apart from those lost on merchant vessels in times of conflict?
Will the difference between the two designation categories - the Controlled Site, where diving is banned outright, and the Protected Place, which is subject to a look-don't-touch policy - be sufficiently transparent for most divers to appreciate the underlying rationale?
And how should a diver's treatment of a Protected Place differ from his treatment of every other wreck he believes to be a "war grave"?
Despite these shortcomings, there is reason to see the process as positive. Firstly, together with last year's wreck amnesty, it reminds us that the activities of the minority of divers who indiscriminately interfere with wrecks should not be tolerated. Looking rather than touching must be the rule.
Secondly, the Respect Our Wrecks campaign - launched to foster more responsible diving in the face of the threatened legislation - seems to have been a significant factor in the restraint so far shown by the MoD. This campaign has involved unprecedented openness of dialogue between the main UK diving organisations, which bodes well for future co-operation - both in terms of representing divers' interests outside the sport, and of discussion of training, safety and other inter-agency mattters.
Finally, there has been a consciousness-raising effect. The debate has not only increased our awareness of how society may view our activities, positively or otherwise, but has also led to a significant sharpening of our appreciation of the vessels on which we dive, their history, and how we relate to it.
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