Greater protection for ships lost in World War One
Tens of thousands of sailors and merchant navy personnel lost their lives in World War One but now the huge number of ships sunk in the conflict are to be offered increased protection under a UN agreement.
Many of these wrecks are now threatened by salvage operations, deliberate destruction and looting.
But experts from 36 states meeting in Belgium have been hearing how the Unesco Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage will increase safeguards.
Introduced in 2001, the convention only applies to ships sunk at least 100 years ago.
With the centenary of World War One imminent, the agreement is soon to be extended to thousands of sites.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28056244
= new reply since forum marked as read
There was a thread recently about an aircraft carrier being sold for a dollar for salvage.
The general consensus here was salvaging a ship for scrap is not very economical and is, in fact, a risky financial undertaking.
Seems like it wouldn't be worth it to have to dive for scrap.
Maybe it makes more sense to cherry pick parts and not have to worry about asbestos disposal and other environmental concerns. 
