The recovery of historic, sunken military vessels raises several legal issues, including those of ownership, state immunity, environmental protection and the in situ preservation of underwater cultural heritage. In recent times, the remains of World War II (WWII) warships have increasingly vanished from the Pacific seafloor causing a serious dilemma in underwater heritage preservation and environmental protection. The illicit removal of the wrecks illustrates the jurisdictional difficulties maritime powers face in preventing unauthorised interference with their sunken military property. It is alleged that the remnants of American, Australian, British, Dutch and Japanese warships have largely been the victim of ‘metal pirates’. This paper highlights the threat posed to sunken WWII ships from metal pirates, who, unlike traditional treasure hunters, have specifically targeted ships’ fixtures and fittings, bronze propellers and metal hulls, and in some cases, even unexploded ordnance. Besides the impact on heritage conservation and integrity, the actions of metal pirates are posing a significant threat to the marine environment, particularly given that many WWII wrecks to this day still contain considerable quantities of oil, ammunition, and unexploded. The illicit salvaging of WWII wrecks has the potential to cause the release of oil and toxic chemicals into the surrounding marine water resulting in the contamination of fishing grounds, therefore threatening the wider environmental security of the Asia–Pacific region. Indeed, as the legacy of the Pacific conflict is represented by the number of warships that rest on the seafloor, there is the potential for serious environmental harm occurring unless states cooperate with one another to prevent piracy and related maritime crime. Many WWII wrecks are historically significant, such as the USS Indianapolis, sunk in 1945 after delivering components of the atomic bombs to Tinian; while others, such as Australia’s HMAS Perth, serve as war graves to their crew. As such, this paper considers the challenges states face in protecting sunken battleships from criminal syndicates who prey on the remnants of war.

中文翻译：

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太平洋的“幽灵战舰”：金属海盗、二战遗产和环境保护

历史沉没军舰的恢复引发了几个法律问题，包括所有权、国家豁免、环境保护和水下文化遗产的原位保护。近年来，越来越多的二战（WWII）战舰遗骸从太平洋海底消失，导致水下遗产保护和环境保护面临严重困境。沉船的非法清除说明了海上强国在防止对其沉没的军事财产进行未经授权的干预方面面临的管辖权困难。据称，美国、澳大利亚、英国、荷兰和日本军舰的残骸主要是“金属海盗”的受害者。这篇论文强调了金属海盗对沉没的二战船只构成的威胁，他们与传统的寻宝者不同，专门针对船舶的固定装置和配件、青铜螺旋桨和金属船体，在某些情况下甚至是未爆弹药。除了对遗产保护和完整性的影响之外，金属海盗的行为还对海洋环境构成了重大威胁，特别是考虑到许多二战沉船至今仍含有大量石油、弹药和未爆炸物。非法打捞二战沉船有可能导致石油和有毒化学物质释放到周围的海水中，导致渔场受到污染，从而威胁到亚太地区更广泛的环境安全。事实上，由于太平洋冲突的遗产以停泊在海底的军舰数量为代表，除非各国相互合作以防止海盗和相关的海上犯罪，否则有可能发生严重的环境损害。许多二战残骸都具有历史意义，例如印第安纳波利斯号航空母舰，它在向天宁岛运送原子弹部件后于 1945 年沉没；而其他一些，例如澳大利亚的 HMAS Perth，则是他们船员的战争坟墓。因此，本文考虑了各国在保护沉没战舰免受掠夺战争残余物的犯罪集团侵害方面面临的挑战。