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Odyssey Discovers Two More Shipwrecks

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 29, 2008

Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc., a deep-sea exploration and salvage company, said it has discovered two separate shipwrecks in the English Channel.

Both shipwrecks, which contain colonial-era artifacts, are outside the territorial waters of any sovereign nation, said Odyssey, a publicly-held company.

The company said it has not yet been able to confirm the identity of either shipwreck. Odyssey claimed ownership of each site in papers filed this week in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

"If either site can be identified, any potential claimants will be notified through appropriate private or public notices," the company said in a statement.

Odyssey announced last year the discovery of a sunken treasure, 17 tons of colonial-era coins worth an estimated $500 million, at an undisclosed site in the Atlantic Ocean. The company recovered the loot and flew it to a warehouse in Tampa.

But Spain recently claimed ownership of the treasure in federal court, saying the shipwreck is the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish war ship sunk by the British Navy in 1804 south of Portugal. But Odyssey said Spain has no proof the cargo is from the Mercedes and is "jumping to conclusions."

Ownership of the treasure will be decided by a federal judge in Tampa.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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