HISTORIC shipwrecks that have been out of bounds to divers are to be opened up for the first time.
Currently it is illegal for scuba divers to visit eight protected sites – such as the HMS Campania in the Firth of Forth – without a licence from Historic Scotland.
However, under the Scottish Marine Bill, currently going through parliament, the r
estrictions will be lifted.
Divers have long argued that there should be greater freedom to visit wrecks on a "look but don't touch" basis.
Wrecks where restrictions would be lifted include the remains of a warship called The Swan in the Sound of Mull, which sank in 1653 and the Kennemerland in Out Skerries, Shetland – an armed merchant vessel belonging to the Dutch East India Company that sank in 1664, while loaded with a cargo of treasure and jewels.
The eight sites are currently designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, which instated a blanket ban on visiting them without a licence.
However, the Scottish Marine Bill will see them turned into Historic Marine Protected Areas, and access will be permitted. If it is deemed necessary to restrict access, Historic Scotland could slap a Marine Conservation Order on the site. However, even then there would be some flexibility to allow visitors – such as divers who had special training at dive centres.
Philip Robertson, Historic Scotland's senior inspector of marine archaeology, said the new system would help encourage "responsible access to our underwater heritage".
He said: "For years we have worked closely with the diving community to monitor and protect wrecks and this Bill will make it easier for those diving to get access on a 'look but don't touch' basis".Shipwrecks that are classed as war graves by the Ministry of Defence, such as HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow, Orkney, will still be out of bounds. The MoD, rather than the Scottish Government, controls these sites.
Gary Lawson, who runs a dive centre in North Berwick, said he has wanted to visit HMS Campania for a long time.
"This is very good news," he said.
However, he believes divers should be able to visit all wreck sites, even those classed as war graves.
"It's almost like we are being branded as some scrap-collecting, stealing-lead-off-church-roof types of people.
"There's not a graveyard in the country that we couldn't go around and read the headstones and take photographs and yet they won't let us swim around these sites and pay our respects."
Environment secretary Richard Lochhead, speaking yesterday at Holyrood's Marine Bill Conference in Edinburgh, said: "The popularity of shipwreck driving in Orkney and the Sound of Mull means Scotland can already lay claim to the title of 'shipwreck diving capital of Europe'.
"Diving generates millions of pounds for our economy. And thanks to these new measures there is scope to open up a whole new world of hidden treasures for divers."---scotsman.com