Michael Hatcher

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Michael "Mike" Hatcher (born 1940) is a British explorer and marine salvor.

He has specialised in work in the South China Sea. In 1981 he was involved in investigating the wreck of Dutch submarine K XVII.

He is especially known for his recovery of large quantities of Chinese porcelain from the VOC ship Geldermalsen (known as the "Nanking cargo") which was sold at auction by Christie's in Amsterdam in 1986.

In 1999 he discovered the Tek Sing shipwreck and retrieved 360,000 pieces of porcelain.

In 2007 a number of associates of his were convicted of a fraud involving a treasure hunting mission which exploited Hatcher's name in an unauthorised investment, the "Hatcher Unit Trust". Hatcher may face legal action in Singapore, Australia, Vanuatu and Japan.[1] Following admissions to an undercover investigator from Paragon New Zealand, Hatcher has been charged with fraud and extortion in relation to a $60 million attempt to defraud Grey Claire, a New Zealand businessman [2]

Hatcher is controversial in Chinese archaeological circles; while credited with bringing attention to the field of Southeast Asian marine archaeology, he is accused of having damaged or destroyed historically valuable artifacts in his quest for profit.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21906765-28737,00.html The Australian: "Treasure traps band of hunters".
  2. ^ New Zealand Herald: "Death threats made over $60 million fortune".
  3. ^ http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/222723.htm "Exploration of the Nanhai No.1"

[edit] Further reading

  • Hugh Edwards. Treasures of the Deep: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Captain Mike Hatcher (HarperCollins Publishers, 2000) ISBN 9780732258856
  • Nigel Pickford and Michael Hatcher. The Legacy Of The Tek Sing, Granta
  • Christie's Amsterdam B.V. The Nanking Cargo, Chinese Porcelain and Gold, European Glass and Stoneware, recovered by Captain Michael Hatcher from a European ship wrecked in the South China Seas. Amsterdam, 1986
  • Sheaf, Colin (1988). Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes: The Complete Record. Phaidon. ISBN 978-0714880464.