career I’ve dived sunken warships from five wars in four countries spanning 300 years of history. None were war graves. Of course all reasonably accessible human remains on Hamilton and Scourge would be recovered and repatriated to the U.S. Navy for burial, likely in Arlington National Cemetery where they would be honoured with other fallen American service men and women. Public access would require installation of permanent moorings. Underwater archaeology divers would recover all moveable artefacts for conservation and display at suitable venues that already exist in the Hamilton area. Cost of this recovery would be comparatively inexpensive. The wreck sites and the artefact displays would generate revenue for the City of Hamilton. Licensed dive charter operators would be integral to wreck oversight, helping to police the sites since it would be in their interest. A user pay fee by divers would offset mooring maintenance, conservation work, etc., incurred by the agencies involved. Such a model is practical and affordable and the wrecks become an even greater educational resource. For this to happen we need civic politicians with a more expansive vision.
Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005 establish a no-go 2,500-foot (750m) perimeter around an Ontario Marine Heritage site. This includes the Hamilton and Scourge. Parks Canada’s technical assistance and advice to the City of Hamilton has included wreck
site condition surveys in 2007, 2008 and 2009 that contribute to the development of ‘strategies for action’. In 2010, city officials said they were in a ‘condition monitoring’ and ‘study phase’ at the time. Also, since we dived the wrecks, changes to the Canada Shipping Act now facilitate joint agreements between the federal government and any person or organization to administer or enforce regulations as they apply to a wreck (heritage site) in Canadian waters. This amendment eliminates regulatory conflicts between different levels of government so that, for instance, stewardship of Hamilton and Scourge by the City of Hamilton is not undermined by federal regulation. In June this year a combination side-scan sonar and magnetometer survey of the wreck sites was conducted (see story page 46). Detecting iron artefacts on the bottom and defining boundaries of debris fields helps archaeologists understand where the vessels capsized in relation to their positions on the bottom.
Currently, the City of Hamilton is studying the cost of recovering artefacts from the wrecks and the Canadian Conservation Institute, which advises on best archaeological practises for managing Canadian
Hamilton and Scourge should be accessible to SCUBA enthusiasts, protected on a marine park model
Clockwise: Safety diver
at the surface. Scourge’s figurehead.
Crossed sabres
above a Scourge gunport
Heritage Sites, is conducting a risk assessment analysis. Hamilton and Scourge are heritage wrecks belonging to the people of Canada and the United States. They are not the property of any level of government. Effective management of the wrecks and recovery of artefacts for the public good will require a realistic strategy based on the facts and implemented in a timely fashion.
It’s my opinion that sport divers as a segment of the public have a much greater interest in shipwrecks and their history than most other groups. Let’s return Hamilton and Scourge to the light of day so they can be remembered and appreciated, as they should. Allow open and responsible diving of these wrecks now.
For more info
www.hamilton.com
www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca
Scott Stitt is a former commercial
hard-hat
diver with hundreds of hours of mixed gas and saturation dives logged in the offshore oil and gas industry. He’s also
worked with Texas A&M University and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) as an underwater field archaeologist. Scott holds a
B.Sc. in environmental science and is a 23- year veteran of the Toronto Fire Department, a trimix Instructor and cave diver, who’s worked as an underwater videographer and technical dive supervisor for the Undersea Explorers television show. He continues to work as a diving photojournalist.
www.divermag.com 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68