en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotsam,_jetsam,_lagan_and_derelict
2 corrections found
or any floating cargo that is cast overboard.
This misdefines flotsam. Cargo intentionally cast overboard is generally classified as jetsam, not flotsam.
Full reasoning
Official maritime-law definitions distinguish flotsam from jetsam based on whether the goods were deliberately thrown overboard.
- NOAA defines flotsam as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often from a shipwreck or accident.
- The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency defines jetsam as goods cast overboard to lighten a vessel in danger of sinking, while flotsam is goods lost from a ship that has sunk or otherwise perished and remain afloat.
So the article's statement that flotsam includes "any floating cargo that is cast overboard" is incorrect: intentionally cast-overboard cargo belongs under jetsam, even if it floats.
2 sources
- What are flotsam and jetsam?
Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard... Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress...
- Wreck and salvage law - GOV.UK
Jetsam describes goods cast overboard to lighten a vessel in danger of sinking... Flotsam describes goods lost from a ship which has sunk or otherwise perished. Goods are recoverable because they remain afloat.
Lagan can also be large objects trapped within the sinking vessel.
This adds a category that standard legal definitions do not support. Lagan refers to goods that were cast overboard and buoyed for later recovery, not objects trapped inside a sinking vessel.
Full reasoning
The added sentence conflicts with standard legal definitions of lagan.
Authoritative government guidance defines lagan as goods that were cast overboard and buoyed/marked so they can later be recovered:
- GOV.UK: "Lagan describes goods cast overboard from a ship which afterwards perishes. The goods are buoyed so they can be recovered."
- Ireland's Receiver of Wreck manual: "Lagan means goods cast overboard from a ship which afterwards perishes, buoyed so as to render them recoverable."
An object merely trapped within a sinking vessel has not been cast overboard and buoyed, so it does not fit these definitions of lagan.
2 sources
- Wreck and salvage law - GOV.UK
Lagan describes goods cast overboard from a ship which afterwards perishes. The goods are buoyed so they can be recovered.
- Receiver of Wreck Manual
“Lagan” means goods cast overboard from a ship which afterwards perishes, buoyed so as to render them recoverable.