CHINA:Chinese researchers have retrieved more than 300 pieces of porcelain from a centuries-old shipwreck lying at the bottom of the South China Sea.
Using satellite navigation, archaeologists in Guangdong located the sunken ship in early June, although not before local fishermen had snapped up a batch of the valuable artefacts it was carrying.
Archaeologists face stiff competition to rescue artefacts from shipwrecks from high-tech salvage experts, many from other parts of the world, acting secretly in the area, while curious locals are also a problem.
The ship, which researchers have called the South China Sea II, is about 18 metres long and is lying at a depth of 20 metres in the ancient channel linking east and west and known as the Marine Silk Road.
It probably sank 400 years ago after hitting a reef.
"These porcelain objects, mostly bowls, plates, pots and bottles, were believed to be produced in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)," said Dr Wei Jun of the Guangdong Archaeology Institute.
"They have a great archaeological value. "If everything goes well, the ship could be pulled out of water in October this year," he said.
The wreck has proven to be a bonanza for local fishermen, and news of the ship first came to light when police in the area heard about fishermen recovering ancient porcelain objects from the sea.
Police in Guangdong's Nanao county have confiscated more than 130 pieces of porcelain from three fishing boats, the Xinhua news agency said.
One boat owner said divers he had hired for deep sea fishing had come across the pieces by accident.
Local residents were told not to loot the ship and on June 1st, two residents turned over 124 porcelain items to police.
The sunken ship was found soon after China began salvage operations at another wreck site on the Marine Silk Road, which linked imperial China to the West and dates back to the days of the Song emperors, who ruled between 960 and 1279.
South China Sea I, discovered in 1987, was the first ancient vessel discovered in the area.
Earlier this year, authorities said that foreign smugglers were using advanced technology to steal China's sea-bed treasures, mostly porcelain, from ancient shipwrecks, which was then being shipped to the US and other foreign markets.
The sea-bed treasures are much in demand with foreign collectors. In early 2005, about 15,000 pieces, mainly blue and white porcelain about 300-years-old, were found in a shipwreck off the southeastern province of Fujian.