This ruling means that in the future, wrecks found in international waters will be secretly looted, with the cargoes sold off on the international collectors’ market with no publicity, instead of being explored by archaeologists. Vital chapters in human history will now remain unwritten.
It’s not feasible to discover and salvage deep water wrecks like this in secret.
This ain’t guys with SCUBA tanks on a coral reef off of the Florida Keys.