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Confederate Sub Raised Off S.C. Coast After 136 Years Under Water; Recent Court Ruling Changes Sunken Treasure Ownership Rules

Aired August 8, 2000 - 10:00 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning off the coast of South Carolina. In 1864, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley made naval history. It was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. But the Hunley's nine-member crew never made it back to shore. The sub sank and left behind a host of questions. Today, 136 years later, the Hunley has been pulled from the water.

CNN Brian Cabell now live near Charleston on Sullivans Island there in the southeastern section of South Carolina.

Brian, good morning to you.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Everything so far, it appears, has gone off without a hitch. As you can see, there are people gathered around here. This is Sullivans Island just off the coast of Charleston. And about five or six miles from here, we have the Hunley, which was raised just about an hour and a half ago.

Let's take a look at the shot of it as it was being raised. It was raised within a steel truss. There were straps underneath it and then foam brought up on the straps to make sure it was stabilized, and apparently lifted up without any problem whatsoever. This is a operation that was in the working for some four years or so. It was first discovered back in 1995, confirmed in '96, and for the last four years they have been preparing for this day, for this very moment when it was raised. It was raised very gingerly then lifted onto a barge.

Now let's take a look at the live shot. You can see right now that it is on that barge. We're, of course, at sea here and so we have three-, four-foot seas and the shot is rolling and breaks up from time to time. But it is now being secured on top of that barge. It is being spot-welded to stabilize it. It has not really moved yet. Once it is perfectly stabilized. then it will be tugged. There is a tugboat there as well. It will be tugged to a laboratory on the Cooper River about 15 miles away. That entire journey, we're told, will take about four to five hours.

They want to get it out of the air as soon as possible. They will spray it with sea water along the way. And once they get it into the lab, it will be submerged in a basin of cold water. And from there, the really interesting part will begin. That's when they will start excavating. But, once again, so far, everything has gone very, very smoothly so far, Bill, and they hope to have it safely within a basin of cold water so scientists can get a real look at it, probably in about five hours or so -- Bill.

HEMMER: Really fascinating stuff. Brian, I was listening to some people talk earlier today. They were talking about possibly letters and mail correspondence inside the submarine. What more are they talking about possibly inside?

CABELL: Well, they're referring to it as a time capsule of Charleston, 1864. They will have eight or nine bodies inside in semi- preserved states, they believe, the clothing of the times. They're saying, frankly, they may find flesh, they may find hair, they may find whatever these men had in their pockets, whether they be combs or coins or photographs, letters, whatever would be in a submarine of this sort back in 1864, that's what they will find. They are calling it a time capsule, so obviously a great deal of interest by anthropologists in what they're going to find there.

HEMMER: Historians love this stuff. Brian Cabell, thanks, live there in South Carolina -- Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who knew you were going to need Dramamine to watch today's newscast.

Countless ships and subs are entombed on the ocean floor. For many treasure hunters, these lost vessels offer an opportunity to uncover pieces of history and riches, but there are questions about who owns those artifacts brought up from the deep.

Our Mark Potter takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a privately owned lab in Key West, Florida, archaeologists restore artifacts and treasure recovered from sunken Spanish galleons. This a handle from a soldier's sword.

Over the years, divers have found hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold, silver, emeralds and historic objects. Many of these valuables have been sold to wealthy investors.

But salvers are worried now. Recently, a U.S. appeals court changed the rules on who owns shipwrecks and their cargo. The law used to favor treasure hunters who risk considerable time and money hoping to strike it rich on abandoned vessels. But after the Spanish government complained about a Virginia salver diving on two Spanish frigates, the federal judges ruled Spain still owns the centuries-old ships.

JAMES GOOLD, ATTORNEY FOR SPANISH GOVERNMENT: They are treating the artifacts, in the case of these ships, the personal effects of soldiers and sailors who died in the service of their country, as curios or souvenirs. POTTER (on camera): In supporting the Spanish government in its lawsuit, the United States government expressed concern about thousands of its own military vessels lost at sea and argued they too should be protected form exploitation by treasure hunters.

(voice-over): In Key West, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum displays riches recovered from Spanish ships by private salvers. It also has an archaeological staff conducting research. The argument here is that without treasure divers seeking profit, the public might not see these pieces of history since governments are unlikely to do the recovery work.

EDWARD HORAN, ATTORNEY: We would lose a very valuable resource if we are not able to uncover more about history and let the people and the public benefit from the recovery of this history.

POTTER: The core legal question here is: When is a shipwreck considered abandoned? It may eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.

Mark Potter, CNN, Key West, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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