The Department of Transport warned people off exploring US shipwrecks in a notice Monday.
All US shipwrecks are under MARAD's authority, it said, no matter where or when they sunk.
At the same time, several governments have in recent weeks expressed alarm at what appears to be large-scale looting of WWII shipwrecks, which are regarded as war graves.
According to the DOT notice, shipwrecks are "highly vulnerable to illegal salvage."
The dredger was found to have recovered highly valuable steel and cannon shells, CNN reported.
Persons:
MARAD, Andre Seale
Organizations:
Transport, Service, Department of Transport, Federal, VW, Getty, Atmospheric Administration, US Naval Institute, CNN, Guardian, Java
Locations:
Wall, Silicon, United States, Spiegel, Key Largo , Florida, USA, Malaysian, South China