[MSN] An American treasure hunter has been granted a second chance to apply for a licence to recover artifacts from a wrecked tall ship that was part of a fleet carrying loot plundered from the White House during the War of 1812.

[MSN]

U.S. company gets second chance to recover treasure from wrecked British vessel

21 hours ago

HALIFAX — An American treasure hunter has been granted a second chance to apply for a licence to recover artifacts from a wrecked tall ship that was part of a fleet carrying loot plundered from the White House during the War of 1812.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled this week that the provincial government erred when it failed to give the company a chance to counter claims by the British government that the HMS Fantome still belongs to England.

The company, Sovereign Exploration Associates International Inc., has conducted dives on the site off Prospect, N.S., and planned to recover some of the thousands of coins and other artifacts on the ocean floor.

But that plan was shelved when the British government claimed that it still owned the famed Royal Navy vessel that sank on Nov. 24, 1812.

At the time, the two-masted, square-rigged brig was leading a convoy of ships to Halifax three months after British and Canadian troops invaded Washington, looting and torching the U.S. president's home and all public buildings.

Researchers believe the ship was caught in a storm and sank after hitting a shoal about 25 kilometres southwest of Halifax.

Divers have already recovered cannon and musket shot, copper buttons bearing the Royal Navy symbol, pottery, tools, and ships' nails and bolts.

They've also recovered copper sheathing, embossed with a distinctive English marking that indicates military or Crown property.

The British have argued that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gives them title to the warship.

Earlier this week, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said the province broke rules of procedural fairness by not letting the U.S. company be heard on the ownership debate before its initial application was rejected.

"It was a fundamental error for the director (of the Nova Scotia Museum) to accept it (British ownership), without question, and without allowing the applicant an opportunity to be heard," Judge David MacAdam wrote in his decision.

The province can issue permits and licences under the Treasure Trove Act, legislation that allows people to dive on and recover material taken from shipwrecks.

The company still holds a licence that allows it to dive on the site, but it can't recover anything from the wreck.

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