NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-22 (2026)

Title to bottoms of certain waters and shipwrecks, etc., thereon declared to be in State

✓ current as of July 2026
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Subject to Chapter 82 of the General Statutes, entitled "Wrecks" and to the provisions of Chapter 210, Session Laws of 1963, and to any statute of the United States, the title to all bottoms of navigable waters within one marine league seaward from the Atlantic seashore measured from the extreme low watermark; and the title to all shipwrecks, vessels, cargoes, tackle, and underwater archaeological artifacts which have remained unclaimed for more than 10 years lying on the said bottoms, or on the bottoms of any other navigable waters of the State, is hereby declared to be in the State of North Carolina, and such bottoms, shipwrecks, vessels, cargoes, tackle, and underwater archaeological artifacts shall be subject to the exclusive dominion and control of the State. (1967, c. 533, s. 1.)

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1973–2026 · leading case: Allen v. Cooper, 589 U.S. 248 (2020).
Allen v. Cooper, 589 U.S. 248 (2020). “For over a decade, Allen created videos and photos of divers' efforts to salvage the Revenge 's guns, anchors, and other remains.”
Frederick Allen v. Roy Cooper, 895 F.3d 337 (4th Cir. 2018). “" N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-22 . More than two-and-a-half centuries later, on November 21, 1996, Intersal, Inc.”
Riebe v. the Unidentified, Wrecked & Abandoned 18th Century Shipwreck, 691 F. Supp. 923 (E.D.N.C. 1987). · cites it 4× “§ 1311 , which grants the states title to lands beneath navigable waters within a three-mile jurisdiction, and N.C.Gen.Stat. § 121-22, which grants North Carolina title, exclusive dominion, and control to all underwater archaeological finds.”
State v. Armistead, 200 S.E.2d 226 (N.C. Ct. App. 1973). · cites it 7× “error present to this Court the question of whether the three cannons found by defendants in the Roanoke River are archaeological artifacts within the purview of G.S. 121-22 and consequently, whether the State is the owner thereof.”
Frederick Allen v. Joshua Stein (4th Cir. 2026). “” See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-22 ; see also 43 U.”
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