UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted on 2 November 2001 and entered into force on 2 January 2009. It protects all traces of human existence of cultural, historical, or archaeological character that have been underwater for at least 100 years, setting in-situ preservation as the preferred option, banning commercial exploitation, and providing an Annex of practical rules for survey and excavation. It is the principal international instrument governing the treatment of shipwrecks and submerged sites.