Race for Ruins : Malaysia's eastern waters are littered with the wrecks of ancient ships. Who will get their treasures?(Brief Article)

Sten Sjostrand is obsessed with wrecks. For the past nine years, the Swedish marine engineer has been scouring the waters off Malaysia's east coast for the wreckage of ancient trading ships. So far, he has uncovered seven vessels, ranging in age from the 14th-century Turiang to the Desaru, which dates to around 1830. He has not only hauled up valuable treasures but also has helped fuel a rising regional interest in just what is resting on Southeast Asia's sea beds.

Sjostrand and his team located the wreck of the Turiang--which appears to be of Chinese origin--in 43 meters of water, more than 100 nautical miles off the Malaysian coast. Although trawling nets had seriously damaged the deck, great stacks of ceramics from China, Thailand and Vietnam lay below. The cargoes were packed separately, indicating that the vessel had made several ports of call to fill its hold. And the fact that the wreck dates from the mid-14th century provides strong evidence that Southeast Asian kilns were already operating and competing with Chinese kilns before the Ming Emperor Hongwu banned private trade outside China in 1371.

There is plenty more down there. Vessels from China, Java and India plied their trade on the region's monsoon winds from as early as the 10th century. They carried everything from bowls and flatware to spices and salted fish. Already more than 30 ships have been excavated in the region, and there may be many more still undiscovered. The wrecks have proved invaluable in filling historical gaps, with each one providing a concrete glimpse of a specific moment in time. Indeed, Sjostrand's seven wrecks provide strong evidence that regional trade--as opposed to the great trade routes documented in Chinese and Arabic records--was an important business. The cargoes of the regional traders show that Southeast Asians preferred traditional pale green ceramics and were far less interested in the blue and white china that was all the rage in Europe from the 16th century on.

But marine archeologists may be running out of time. The advances in sonar technology that have helped people like Sjostrand--who shares both his treasures and his knowledge with the Malaysian government--find the wrecks mean looters also have easier access. At the same time, commercial fishing in the region--especially with dragnets that scrape the ocean floor--has intensified. The nets shave off the top of the wrecks, scattering their precious cargo and destroying the masts or protruding hulls that would help divers locate them. "Someone or something else will get to the wrecks if action isn't taken soon," says John Guy, curator of the Indian and Southeast Asian Department of London's Victoria and Albert Museum. "The result is that the pace of wreck recovery has increased dramatically, and at the same time there is an urgency that wasn't there in the past."

Pulling treasures up from the depths is no easy feat. Visibility at the wreck sites is often near zero because of high winds, and each year there ...