The following are facts and figures provided by UNESCO (www.unesco.com) (United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organization).
* Over three million undiscovered wrecks are estimated to be spread across ocean floors.
* 65,000 are thought to have sunk since 1500 off North American coasts.
* Experts calculate that 850 ships - including 90 Spanish galleons and 40 Portuguese Indiamen - lie in the waters around the Azores.
* The Dictionary of Disasters at Sea lists 12,542 sailing and war vessels lost at sea between 1824 and 1962.
* Whole cites have disappeared under the waves, such as Jamaica's Port Royal, victim of earthquake in 1692.
* Remnants of ancient civilisations now under water include the Alexandria lighthouse in Egypt and numerous Neolithic villages under the Black Sea.
The technology to search the depths of the sea is finally becoming commercially available and with that its mysteries and treasures long lost are being discovered. Which has consequently created a new battle, are the ships being salvaged for their archaeological finds, or the treasures they hold. Spain for example has hailed Odyssey as pirates; yet Odyssey has worked closely with the Government of the United Kingdom to salvage the HMS Victory.
Apparently one Governments' pirate are another's friend strangely enough the same countries who were at war when many of these ships went down are now in a war over their salvage.
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