Posted by on May 12, 2005 at 06:45:21:
In Reply to: French side with diver seeking salvage rights to 17th-century vessel posted by on May 12, 2005 at 06:43:03:
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. More than 300 years after the Griffin vanished, a Great Lakes treasure hunter wants to obtain the salvage rights to it.
Steve Libert of Virginia says the government of France supports his bid to claim the first European trade ship on Lake Michigan.
Libert filed a federal lawsuit last summer claiming the sunken ship.
The Griffin, built in North America by French explorer Robert de La Salle, disappeared on its maiden voyage in 1679.
The Griffin was the first European decked ship to sail the upper Great Lakes and is considered a prize among shipwreck hunters.
Michigan claims ownership of historic shipwrecks under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act.
But Libert's attorney says the French government could assert ownership rights to the Griffin.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights rese