Underwater cultural heritage in Montenegro is protected by national legislation and by international standards adopted through the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Montenegro deposited its instrument of ratification on 18 July 2008, thereby committing to the Convention’s principles of research, preservation, international cooperation, and responsible public access.
The national legal framework is based primarily on the Law on Protection of Cultural Property. It applies to cultural property located on Montenegro’s land territory, inland waters, and territorial sea. The law prohibits activities that may damage, destroy, remove, or unlawfully appropriate cultural property, and provides for the registration of protected properties in the national Register of Cultural Property.
Underwater archaeological research requires official approval. Applications for research must include the consent of the authority responsible for maritime safety, and any required permissions for specialised equipment. Foreign individuals or institutions may undertake research only in cooperation with a domestic legal entity and with the appropriate authorisation.
The law also establishes obligations when archaeological material is discovered accidentally during works on land or in water. Work must be stopped, the find secured against damage or unauthorised access, and the competent heritage, police, or maritime authorities informed without delay.
Montenegro has already granted legal protection to selected underwater archaeological areas, including Bigovica Bay near Bar and the underwater area between Cape Strpački and Cape Murove in the Bay of Risan. However, legal protection is equally relevant to unregistered sites: a wreck, submerged structure, cargo, aircraft, or archaeological object does not become available for removal simply because it has not yet been fully studied or formally named.
The UNESCO Convention gives priority to preservation in situ, meaning the protection of heritage where it lies on the seabed. It opposes commercial exploitation and supports responsible, non-invasive access only where compatible with the site’s conservation and management.
For this reason, the precise locations of vulnerable shipwrecks and other underwater sites should not be publicly disclosed. Their protection depends on professional documentation, controlled research, effective monitoring, and public awareness that Montenegro’s submerged heritage is a non-renewable part of its shared cultural legacy.