The site, known as the Wheel Wreck, was found by local divers off Little Ganinick in 2005. It consists of a cargo of 19th century Cornish tin-mining equipment. Diving is banned within a 75m radius of position 49 56.445N, 06 16.381W.
The remains are regarded as of considerable historical and cultural value, as similar machinery on land has long since perished. The protection is in line with the granting last year of UNESCO World Heritage Site status to the Cornish mining industry landscape.
The ship from which the cargo is thought to have fallen after capsizing has not been identified and has yet to be found. It is thought to lie somewhere nearby.
The protection of the Wheel Wreck is the 60th in British waters under the Protection of Wrecks legislation.
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