MADRID, Spain (AP) – Spain is laying formal claim to a shipwreck that yielded an estimated $500 million in treasure. Spain claims it has proof the vessel is Spanish and wants a Florida deep-sea exploration firm that recovered the booty give it all back.
Spanish officials say the 19th-century shipwreck at the heart of a year-old dispute with Odyssey Marine Exploration of Tampa is without a doubt the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes. The Spanish warship was sunk by the British navy southwest of Portugal in 1804 with more than 200 people on board.
A U.S. federal judge will convene the two parties to review the case before deciding who gets to keep the treasure, now held in a warehouse in Tampa.
Odyssey officials maintain there isn’t enough evidence to prove the vessel is the Mercedes, mainly because there is no hull. They say they’ve found only cargo from a shipwreck, not the actual vessel.
Source: AP
Odyssey Marine has an FAQ about the shipwreck, code-named “Black Swan,” on their Web site.
Since the announcement by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (AMEX:OMR) of the recovery of over 500,000 coins from the shipwreck code-named “Black Swan“, intense international media coverage has led to many questions that the Company would like to address. In addition to the following questions and answers, additional information on the shipwreck can be accessed in the “Black Swan Question and Answer” section of Odyssey’s website at shipwreck.net, or a copy may be obtained by contacting the Company.