Floating debris and cargo from a shipwreck, strictly divided into two legal categories for salvage and insurance purposes. Flotsam is goods or wreckage that floats to the surface after a ship sinks by accident. Jetsam is cargo or equipment deliberately thrown overboard by the crew to lighten a ship in distress.
Heard on the job
The salvage crew spent three days recovering the flotsam and jetsam scattered along the reef.