An American who owns the wreck of the Lusitania Cunard liner which was lost off the south coast of Ireland in 1915 has begun a High Court action to overturn the State's refusal of a licence to carry out a $2 million research expedition at the site.
In May 1996 the High Court made an order declaring that Mr F. Gregg Bemis, Old Sante Fe Trail, Sante Fe, New Mexico, was owner of the wreck, which lies on the seabed some 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co Cork.
Mr Bemis, in an affidavit opened yesterday by Mr Maurice Collins SC, said he was willing and anxious to undertake a complete dive to investigate the circumstances of the sinking. So far, he had spent in excess of $1 million on seeking to pursue his interest in the wreck.
The research expedition he was putting together would cost more than $2 million, and he had to raise substantial sponsorship. "There is some hysteria concerning the contents of the Lusitania, which is fanciful," he said. That, he added, may have led to the application of a Heritage Order to the site.
He said the vessel in its present state was unrecognisable, having imploded through the weakening of a steel structure by decay and water pressure. An Underwater Heritage Order that the site be "protected" was made by the Commissioners of Public Works in January 1995, under the National Monuments Amendment Act.
A section of the Act provides that an application may be made to the commissioners for a licence to carry out certain activities despite such an order.
Mr Bemis is seeking an order quashing the refusal of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, dated May 22nd, 2001, to grant him a licence under Section 3 of the National Monuments Act 1987.
The Minister and the State, in their grounds of opposition, deny that the refusal to grant the licence was unreasonable and submit that it was consistent with the principles and policies of the National Monuments Acts and with international standards.
They also plead the absence of detail in Mr Bemis's purported application, which precluded any consideration of the merits of the activities for which he sought a licence. Mr Bemis required an excavation licence under Section 26 of the National Monuments Act, 1930, to carry out certain activities, and the failure to apply for such a licence was a valid ground for refusal, it is claimed.
The hearing continues.