Are there any benefits to buying a shipwreck?

A diver from Plymouth has bought a World War One shipwreck off the Cornish coast for £300 after he saw it advertised on Facebook Marketplace.

Dom Robinson, 53, purchased the SS Almond Branch - a 3,000-tonne cargo ship nearly 330ft (100m) long.

But what is it like to own a shipwreck, and what are owners' rights and responsibilities?

Mr Robinson said his purchase was signed off by the government's Receiver of Wreck, which is responsible for managing who owns shipwrecks.

But Jason Lowther, associate professor at the University of Plymouth, said buying a shipwreck on Facebook was a "new one on him".

Prof Lowther, who specialises in environmental law and underwater cultural heritage law, said: "As far as I'm aware the government stopped selling off these wrecks so the purchase on Facebook is a new one for me, I think it's fantastic in many respects.

"But really it's just a transfer of title from the salvage from one person to another."

Prof Michael Williams, a specialist in underwater heritage, said if someone wanted to buy a warship they would not be able to as it is classed as Crown property.

He added: "What you have to bear in mind is there's multiple owners [of a ship and shipwreck].

There's the owner of the hull, the owner of the cargo.

"So what exactly have you bought? Have you bought the hull, the hull and the cargo or cargoes? A wreck is a collective term for a number of different interests."

As an owner of a shipwreck, you could be responsible if things go wrong.

Prof Lowther said he would be "reticent" to take a shipwreck on in case there was any potential risk of cargo leakage or bunker oil "which may cause an environmental problem".

He said: "The person that owns it becomes responsible in those circumstances for the damage that could be caused as a result of it."

Prof Lowther added: "Ultimately the owner becomes liable for any damage.

"It doesn't even necessarily depend on their negligence or if someone else might've caused that problem, they're the owner of it."

Prof Williams explained it can also be difficult to stop people from accessing the wreck, "probably".

"I say probably because one of the things people find surprising is the law has not yet decided whether you have the right to swim in the sea or not," he said.

"It's actually undecided. Usually when people buy a wreck they buy the hull, which means you can take bits off it but everyone else is free to take bits off it as well under the law of salvage.

"It's hard to see why you'd buy it. There's lots of downsides, where's the upside?"

As a keen diver, Mr Robinson said he had been looking forward to diving his wreck off Dodman Point in the summer.

He said it would give him a sense of ownership, which would add to the experience.

Prof Williams said there were "tens of thousands" of shipwrecks in Devon and Cornwall.

"Plymouth Sound is literally littered with wrecks... and there will be more to be found," he said.

The Receiver of Wreck has no involvement with the sale of shipwrecks within or outside UK territorial waters but will record ownership to facilitate contact with the owner if items are recovered by someone else from a privately owned wreck.

All finds from wrecks must be reported to the authority within 28 days.

The Protection of Wrecks Act forbids diving on dangerous wrecks and restricts access to wrecks of historic, archaeological or artistic importance.

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