Abandoned Shipwrecks Act particular case of the salvage of the "Nuestra Señora de Atocha", an historic and culturally significant wreck off the coast of Florida, in which the State of Florida was unable to prevent illegal salvage operations due to a lack of a suitable law that would disallow it, spurred action at the federal level to address the situation. On April 29, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill (Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-298, 102 Stat. 432) into law. The law provides that any wreck that lies embedded in a state's submerged lands is property of that state and
Largest shipwrecks on the Great Lakes known. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum estimates that about 6,000 shipwrecks lie beneath the surface of the lakes, while maritime historian Mark Thompson reckons that more than 25,000 shipwrecks are located in the waters of the Great Lakes. ! scope="col"|Ship ! scope="col"|In service ! scope="col"|Out of service ! scope="col"|Length (ft) ! scope="col"|Vessel type ! scope="col"|Launched ! scope="col"|Final disposition ! scope="col"|Notes ! scope="col"|Coordinates !scope="row"|"SS Leecliffe Hall !scope="row"|"SS Edmund Fitzgerald !scope="row"|"SS Carl D. Bradley !scope="row"|"SS Daniel J. Morrell !scope="row"|"SS William C Moreland !scope="row"|"SS Cedarville !scope="row"|"SS Chester A. Congdon !scope="row"|"SS D.R. Hanna !scope="row"|"SS James C. Carruthers !scope="row"|"SS Henry B. Smith !scope="row"|"SS Emperor !scope="row"|"SS