The Philippine National Museum, in conjunction with an underwater archaeology foundation surveying for shipwrecks in Philippine waters, reiterated that the surveying activities in the waters of the eastern Catanduanes province do not have a detrimental environmental impact. The survey is searching in particular for two Spanish galleons said to have sunk off the coast in the vicinity.
Nat’l Museum says HNAF galleon search “safeâ€
Catanduanes Tribune, 15 October 2008
The National Museum has averred that the activities related to the search for sunken Spanish galleons off Catanduanes pose no threat to the environment and are purely research in nature.
Museum researcher Bobby C. Orillaneda of the Underwater Archaeology Section, Archaeology Division, told Bagamanoc Mayor Odilon Pascua that the Catanduanes Underwater Archaeological Project jointly conducted by the National Museum and the Historical and Nautical Archaeology Foundation (HNAF) since 2002 is a research project and is not in any way affiliated with any commercially-oriented group.
“The methods employed by the project are environmentally friendly and has never used any chemicals that could destroy the underwater environment,” Orpillaneda said.
Related Books:
– Treasure Lost at Sea: Diving to the World’s Great Shipwrecks
– 18th century relics of the Griffin shipwreck: A catalogue for the special exhibit, National Museum, Manila, Philippines, June 22, 1988, to July 31, 1988
– Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure in Southeast Asia
– Maritime Archaeology, Second Edition: A Technical Handbook
– Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era: Trade, Power, and Belief (Asia East By South)
I am interested in getting a hold of the Underwater archeology deparment in the Philippines. I am interested in writing a article about there work they do. Please contact me at bruce_konefe@yahoo.com if you have any contact information to them.
Bruce