The Jury of the Artiglio International Award, composed by Francesco Sodini, President, Alberto Bargellini, Boris Giannaccini, M. Fabrizio Saettone and Sauro Sodini, decided unanimously to confer the 2005 Award (theme: Underwater Treasures: Archaeology and Shipwrecks) to the Belgian Robert Sténuit, with the following motivation:

"In over half century of underwater explorations, Robert Sténuit has located hundreds of ancient shipwrecks all over the world. Although not widely known to the general public, he is considered the most important representative on a world class level in the field of underwater archaeology.
An historian of diving equipment, he has reconstructed, among other things, an integrated underwater breathing apparatus, the famous S.C.U.B.A.; directed numerous simulated deep immersions with the intent of developing oxygen-helium decompression tables for extreme depths. He made, by himself, the first immersion in saturation ever attempted in the sea at a depth of 60 meters with a duration of 25 hours, spent in and out of a cylinder link. He made the deepest (132 meters) and the longest (48 hours) dive ever attempted in the ocean in an inflatable underwater refuge anchored to the bottom.
In 1930 he founded the Groupe de Recherche Archéologique Sous-Marine (GRASP) of which he is still the Director. This group is dedicated to the study of 16th to 19th century shipwrecks, with the aim of bringing concrete contributions to the historical documentation of European expansion overseas, with military and commercial operations. The work carried out over the last 35 years has brought prestigious results in the world of underwater archaeology.
He has written many scientific and popular publications, not to mention technical books on the recuperation of cargo and diving in general.
The story of the Artiglio is also familiar to him in great detail and he has tested and used some salvage equipment developed by divers from Viareggio."

The Award is presented to Mr. Sténuit by the Prefect Paolo Tronca.