THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501110401
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The shipwreck lies in Irish waters, but an American judge says he will decide who owns the luxury liner Lusitania.
Judge J. Calvitt Clarke Jr. has ruled that American courts have jurisdiction over the historic wreck, even though the ship is in Irish territorial waters 3,000 miles away.
Clarke, a federal judge in Norfolk, made his ruling Friday. Lawyers received it Monday.
In a 15-page opinion, Clarke also criticized a Santa Fe millionaire who is temporary custodian of the wreck. The judge said he doubts whether the businessman, F. Gregg Bemis Jr., has enough money or expertise to salvage the ship.
The Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo in 1915, killing 1,198 passengers and crew. The incident helped push the United States into the war.
Bemis claims he owns the wreck. So does a Massachusetts widow whose husband was once Bemis' partner. Both filed their claims last year in Norfolk's federal court.
Last month, Clarke dismissed a third claim by four American divers who explored the wreck and secretly removed artifacts from it last summer.
The divers had challenged Clarke's jurisdiction over the case. They said the dispute belongs in Irish courts, because the wreck is 12 miles off the coast of Ireland.
But Clarke ruled it doesn't matter where the ship lies. Both claimants - Bemis and the Massachusetts widow - live in the United States, and American courts have jurisdiction over maritime claims anywhere in the world, Clarke wrote.
Clarke also criticized Bemis' custodianship of the Lusitania, and said he may take away the ship even if Bemis can prove that he holds clear title.
Last summer, Bemis sponsored a salvage dive to the shipwreck, 300 feet underwater. The expedition ended abruptly after two days, when a diver got ``the bends'' and was seriously hurt. Bemis had stayed at home in New Mexico and did not supervise the dive.
Clarke wrote that he has ``grave reservations about the planning and execution of that expedition and about Bemis' ability to perform other future plans.''
Clarke wrote that he ``remains concerned, and is still not completely satisfied, that Bemis has the extensive financial and technological support necessary for continued salvage operations.''
Bemis' lawyer, Richard T. Robol of Virginia Beach, said he is not worried by the judge's remarks.
``I think Mr. Bemis welcomes the court's instructions and information,'' Robol said. ``There are no written handbooks on what a substitute custodian should do. . . . I think Bemis would far rather have clear communications of the expectations of the court.''
A trial is scheduled for March 2. by CNB