Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) completion bonds and (b) other financial arrangements were put in place before granting the Maritime Heritage Foundation permission to recover surface items deemed at risk from the wreck of HMS Victory 1744; and what specific communications he has had with his Ministerial counterparts on this matter.

There has been no threat of legal action by the Maritime Heritage Foundation or Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Since 2008, when Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the wreck of HMS Victory 1744, the site has been regularly monitored and the reports of several site surveys have been submitted to the Government. Environmental studies of the site’s sedimentology and suitability for in situ preservation and the wreck’s marine biological profile have been completed and the information included in the Project Design has been considered by the Advisory Group and Expert Panel. In addition, Wessex Archaeology produced two independent reports in 2009, which can be found at http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/reports/71070/hms-victory-1744.

The project will follow applicable UK law, conditions of the Deed of Gift and the archaeological principles set out in Annex A of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. All cultural items transferred under the Deed of Gift will be accessioned into the ‘Victory 1744 Collection’ along with the associated archive, including site plans, drawings and photographs. The Maritime Heritage Foundation has committed to managing and curating the Collection in line with the Museum Association’s Code of Ethics for Museums. No items transferred under the Deed of Gift may be sold or disposed without the consent of the Secretary of State for Defence.

The Maritime Heritage Foundation has committed to public display and access to the ‘Victory 1744 Collection’, and is in discussion with a UK museum and any agreement will be announced at the appropriate time.

Funding for the approved next stage of the project (recovery of at-risk surface items, subject to a licence by the Marine Management Organisation), which has been discussed by officials from MOD and the Department for Culture Media and Sport officials, as part of the assessment of the Project Design, is underwritten by a financial bond provided by Odyssey Marine Exploration and held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).