CANBERRA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said on Monday he had placed a provisional declaration over the two sunk ships under the 1976 Historic Shipwrecks Act to ensure they are not damaged or disturbed.

    "Under the declaration, unauthorized intrusion into the sites of these final resting places is prohibited," he said in a statement.

In this image provided by HMAS Sydney II Search, a sonar image shows the German raider DKM Kormoran, Saturday, March 15, 2008, 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Western Australia state capital Perth. The discovery of the Kormaran came 66 years after it was sunk by the the Australian ship HMAS Sydney that was also found, upright in 2,470 meters (8,100 feet) of water, late Sunday after it was destroyed in the battle off the west coast of Australia on Nov. 19, 1941.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "This action will ensure respect for the war dead of both our nations," the statement added.

    Her Majesty's Australian Ship Sydney, with all its 645 crewmen, and the German Raider Kormoran, which lost 80 of its 397 crew, both sank following a battle off the WA coast in November 1941.

    A search launched by the Finding Sydney Foundation located the wreck of Kormoran last week and Sydney during the weekend.