Two men, a US national and a Norwegian man have been fined €6,000 each for illegally searching for an old shipwreck off the Larnaca coast.
The two men were convicted last month on two charges of conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour and attempting to illegally search for antiquities without formal authorisation.
They were arrested in February as police and the Department of Antiquities probed a possible illegal underwater search for a 19th century shipwreck in Cyprus’ EEZ.
According to Politis newspaper they were searching for the Napried, a ship loaded with Cypriot antiquities assembled by then US consul Luigi Palma di Cesnola which sank in 1872.
According to the American Institute of Archaeology, soldier, diplomat, and antiquarian, Luigi Palma di Cesnola assembled one of the most comprehensive collections of early Cypriot artefacts of his day.
In 1872, the Napried, a vessel contracted by Cesnola to transport his treasures, sank after departing from Beirut heading to Boston.
Read more
https://in-cyprus.com/two-held-as-police-probe-suspected-illegal-underwater-shipwreck-search/
