quoted:

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
regarding the efforts announced this week by Jeff Bezos to recover
main engines from the Saturn V first stage rocket of Apollo 11:

"I would like to thank Jeff Bezos for his communication with NASA
informing us of his historic find. I salute him and his entire team
on this bold venture and wish them all the luck in the world.

"NASA does retain ownership of any artifacts recovered and would
likely offer one of the Saturn V F-1 engines to the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington under
long-standing arrangements with the institution as the holder of the
national collection of aerospace artifacts.

If it's in international waters NASA can claim ownership all they like.
The law of sea salvage applies and anyone who recovers anything from the
ocean floor in international waters owns it. All he needs do is never
take it to the US and NASA never gets to challenge salvage of the sea
laws.

In recent news the US ignored salvage of the sea law and let Spain steal
salvaged silver. Very stupid.

"If the Smithsonian declines or if a second engine is recovered, we
will work to ensure an engine or other artifacts are available for
display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, as Jeff requested in his
correspondence with my office. I have directed our staff to begin
work to exercise all appropriate authorities to provide a smooth and
expeditious disposition of any flight hardware recovered.

Sending it to the Seattle museum would be the best option. Bezos gets
to be the hero and NASA gets to not be the villian.