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Odyssey Claims Its Share Of Loot
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Published: May 10, 2008
TAMPA - After Spain claimed ownership of a sunken treasure worth an estimated $500 million this week, the Tampa company that recovered the loot has fired back, saying the rightful owner is a mystery and that it's entitled to a share of the find.
"The company is confident in its legal position," Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. said in a statement Friday.
The response came after Spain laid claim Thursday to the entire treasure in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa. It's the latest round in a yearlong battle over the ownership of 17 tons of colonial-era coins that were recovered from the sea last year by Odyssey and transported to Tampa.
After examining photos of the seabed floor where the treasure was found and inspecting artifacts and coins recovered from the site, Spain determined that the shipwreck is the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish warship sunk by the British Navy south of Portugal in 1804.
Odyssey executives said Spain is "jumping to conclusions" and that it has no real proof the treasure was the cargo of the Mercedes.
"What we have found to date is apparently a cargo from a shipwreck as opposed to an actual vessel," Odyssey said.
Spain's so-called proof that the treasure came from the Mercedes are photos and video of the site and a "statistically insignificant sample" of coins, Odyssey said.
"The company does not believe there is sufficient evidence to conclusively prove that the site is indeed related to the Mercedes or any other ship," Odyssey stated Friday. "There is no hull of a shipwreck at this site."
Odyssey, however, said that the 500,000 gold and silver coins it recovered may have come from the Mercedes.
"Odyssey is diligent about notifying potential claimants when the ship's identity is determined," Odyssey said. "When, and if, Spain is determined to have a claim or cultural interest in any shipwreck, Odyssey would propose to enter a relationship just as it has on previous projects."
Odyssey Didn't Name Wreck
In May 2007, the company said in a news release that the site "bears the characteristics of one shipwreck in particular" but didn't name the ship.
At the time, British officials were saying that the treasure may have come from the Merchant Royal, an English cargo ship that sank off England's southwest coast in 1641. The Merchant Royal sank while transporting coins from Spain to Belgium to pay the Spanish army stationed there.
The Spanish government is demanding that the treasure be returned to Spain. It has accused Odyssey of salvaging the site without permission and disturbing the gravesite of hundreds of Spanish sailors.
Odyssey said the site held no vessel or human remains and was treated "with respect and proper archaeological protocols."
Ownership of the treasure, which is being held by Odyssey at a warehouse somewhere in Tampa, will be determined by a federal judge in Tampa.
Spain Invited On Expeditions
Odyssey said it has invited Spain several times to participate in expeditions involving shipwrecks linked to Spanish history and has made several attempts to cooperate with Spain in the salvage of artifacts related to Spanish heritage.
"There have been some individuals that have been working hard to vilify Odyssey rather than acknowledging our company's repeated attempts to cooperate with Spain," the company said.
James Goold, an attorney for Spain, said Thursday that Odyssey "secretly stripped a Spanish ship of coins and other artifacts and then tried to hide them by claiming that it did not know the identity of the ship."
Odyssey has repeatedly said that the site is beyond the territorial waters of any country. The company has said that if a country's claim to the treasure is upheld, the majority would be awarded to Odyssey under international law.
Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.
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