3. Wrecks within Admiralty Jurisdiction.—
It is sometimes said that the admiralty has no jurisdiction over wrecks, but the statement is correct in only a limited sense. In cases where the property had become quite removed from all connection with commerce or navigation, as where a ship had been thrown far inland by a tidal wave and been converted into a dwelling, or cargo was incorporated into the common mass of property on shore, the admiralty would probably decline jurisdiction. On the other hand, the admiralty law of salvage is based, in large part, on the law of wrecks and derelicts; contracts for the lightering of stranded cargoes or the release of wrecked vessels are obviously maritime and the conversion of shipwrecked property may be a maritime tort when consummated on navigable waters. A steamer which had been wrecked and abandoned to the underwriters as a total loss, and incapable of self-propulsion or of carrying a cargo, still remained within the admiralty law of limited liability (Craig v. Insurance Company, 141 U. S. 638). The fact is that the two jurisdictions are largely concurrent on most matters in regard to wrecks and the instances, in which an adequate remedy can not be found in either, are rare.