Sunken treasures remain out of reach

      Archaeologists lack funds and staff to excavate valuable artefacts found in sunken ships in Viet Nam’s rivers and seas.
Twenty years ago, the Government planned to set up a centre for underwater excavation, but it was never implemented, Tong Trung Tin, director of Viet Nam Institute of Archaeology said.
Tin said most excavations were launched by foreign experts at the request of the Vietnamese authorities.
In 1998 a Singapore company was invited to take part in the salvage of a sunken ship at Cu Lao Cham (Cham Island) off the coast of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam.
By 1999, more than 240,000 artefacts had been recovered from a Thai ship believed to have sunk in the late 15th or early 16th century.
"Expenditure for the salvage was US$50,000 a day including salaries to divers from Europe and the rent of machines and equipment," Tin said.
"Antiques retrieved from the shipwreck were then evaluated and nearly 70 per cent of them were taken by the Singapore company to pay for salvaging expenditures."
Tin said each year the State gives VND1.3 billion ($70,000) to his institute, only enough for two days of underwater excavation.
"Machines for underwater excavations are more expensive than those used on land," Tin said.
Without underwater experts, Viet Nam can neither locate sites of sunken ships or have plans to protect them.
Local fishermen, who are often the first to discover sunken ships, sell the artefacts, which end up on the black market.
The shipwreck off Cu Lao Cham, for example, was found by fishermen 70 metres under the water.
Before the Singapore company began the salvage, many vessels prowled the site, searching for hidden treasure inside the ship.
Most fishermen are too inexperienced to salvage objects from ships, and often cause harm while doing so.
While mining for sand, a man in Thai Binh Province’s Hung Ha District late last year damaged a sunken ship in the Hong (Red) River between Hung Yen Province and Ha Noi.
According to archaeologists, the ship belonged to 19th century Chinese merchants and was part of the once-booming foreign trade in Pho Hien in Hung Yen Province.
"Underwater artefacts are national cultural vestiges and have significant historical importance," said Vu The Long, former head of the Viet Nam Institute of Archaeology’s environmental research and ancient peoples division.
"We should not salvage sunken ships when we still lack experts and equipment," he said. "The best way is to mark the locations of the ships and protect them."