Sovereign Exploration Associates Intl (SVXA)

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Court finds permit refusal for treasure hunters unfair
Last Updated: Thursday, April 3, 2008 | 12:03 PM
CBC News

A legal decision has revived the hopes of a treasure hunting company in Cape Breton that wants to dive for a wreck possibly containing artifacts plundered from the White House nearly 200 years ago.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled that Le Chameau Exploration Ltd. and its partners should have been given an opportunity to argue its case before it was denied a recovery permit.

The company wants to explore a site off Nova Scotia that is believed to contain the wreck of HMS Fantome, a British naval vessel that escorted ships from Maine to Halifax in 1814.

Fantome is said to have carried silver and china looted from the White House during the War of 1812.

An application by Le Chameau to dive off Prospect was opposed by the British government, and the Nova Scotia Museum subsequently refused to issue a recovery permit.

Gary Cursano, lawyer for Le Chameau, said Britain claimed it had jurisdiction.

"They argued that the Fantome was a British ship, therefore, if it sunk in Nova Scotia waters in 1814, then because it was a naval vessel, then they would still have jurisdiction and rights over the ship," he said Wednesday.

In a written decision, the court said the British claim should not have been accepted without question and the company should have been allowed to state its case.

Le Chameau is waiting to hear when it can do so.