Conference: Rescue at sea from Antiquity to the present day

Since ancient times, shipwrecks on the coast have led to the systematic plundering of ships and their cargoes. The victims were stripped, delivered into slavery or killed on the spot. Originating in ancient Greece, the custom of the right of breakage spread to all European shores. From the twelfth century onwards, rules were progressively introduced to protect stranded goods and cargoes under royal protection, and in the eighteenth century, although the pillaging of shipwrecks continued, assistance to shipwrecked people became a priority for coastal populations.
The first salvage companies were set up in the 19th century, and at the same time, rescue equipment and boats were developed and modernised. In the 20th century, several texts enshrined in international law the moral obligation to save human life.

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