Spain awarded shipwreck treasure


The treasure-hunting company rejects the Spanish state's claim to the haul

A deep sea treasure-hunting company has been ordered by a US judge to hand over half a million gold and silver coins to the government of Spain.

The company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, raised the haul from a shipwreck in the Atlantic, suspected to be that of a Spanish naval vessel.

The Spanish government argued that the treasure formed part of the country's national heritage.

But Odyssey intends to appeal, saying it has a claim to the treasure.

This is just the latest round of a long-running and sometimes murky dispute, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Madrid.

The haul of coins - thought to be worth some $500m (£308m) - came to light in 2007, when Odyssey announced the recovery of artefacts from a wreck in the Atlantic.

It kept the location of the wreck secret, in what it said was an attempt to deter looters.

The haul was brought ashore in Gibraltar and quickly flown to Miami - enraging the Spanish government, our correspondent says, which says the wreck is that of the Mercedes, a naval frigate destroyed by the British in 1804.

'Private property'

Just over a year ago, the Spanish government filed a suit with a federal court in Florida - where Odyssey is based - demanding the haul be handed over.

Late on Wednesday, a judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, and that the property should be returned to Spain under a principle known as "sovereign immunity".

Spain's Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde expressed joy at the decision.

"It's a very positive decision for the Spanish government and for all the Spanish citizens because it guarantees that this ship and the remains of this ship will come back to Spain, which was originally the owner of this ship," he told the BBC.

"I am pretty sure that Spaniards will have the opportunity to travel back in time and to have a chance to see this treasure."

But in a statement, Odyssey said it would appeal against the ruling.

The Nasdaq-listed company argues that there is no conclusive proof that the wreck is that of the Mercedes and that even if it is, much of the cargo on board the ship belonged to private individuals and not the Spanish state.

"I'm confident that ultimately the judge or the appellate court will see the legal and evidentiary flaws in Spain's claim, and we'll be back to argue the merits of the case," said the firm's CEO, Greg Stemm.




Original story and Video


An American company is in the process of determining the value of a haul of sunken treasure, thought to be the biggest ever discovered. Odyssey Marine Exploration says it is examining more than half-a-million coins from the shipwreck as part of a find that could net it around half a billion dollars. The bounty has sparked public interest in the controversial business of treasure hunting vy Odyssey Marine Exploration.

"Black Swan is the code-name of a secret operation off the coast of Europe which may have discovered the biggest haul of shipwreck treasure ever found.

Odyssey won't reveal the identity of the ship, or even when it sank, to avoid giving clues to other treasure hunters. Odyssey will only say it went down in international waters.

In the crates are 17 tons of silver and gold coins and other valuables arriving in the U.S., destined for a secret location.

Mark Gordon, from Odyssey Marine Exploration, says an expert in 17th century coins estimated the value of the haul. "He looked at a representative sample of the coins and in amongst the group that he saw he was able to determine that there were values ranging from $400 to $4,000 for individual coins, and the mean value of the group that he looked at was about $1,000," says Gordon.

Those crates could hold about half a billion dollars. In the U.S., a big media splash about the "Black Swan" hoard has triggered a new fascination in pirate ships and treasure.

Odyssey estimates there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide. The company combs the seabed using a special underwater vessel: operating it costs $35,000 a day.

If treasure is found, the company determines if anyone may have a claim to it -- unlikely in the case of a pirate-ship -- then petitions a U.S. court to get ownership.

Odyssey is the only publicly traded treasure-hunting company in the U.S., but the business is unpredictable. It reported a net loss of $3.8 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Critics, such as the Institute of Field Archaeologists, accuse private companies like Odyssey of "ransacking" shipwrecks for profit. And Odyssey is in a legal wrangle with the Spanish government over the Black Swan treasure. Spain says it might be one of their galleons that went down in its territorial waters.

But Odyssey says it will press on with its work - and has even teamed up with the Walt Disney Corporation to cater to the public appetite for sunken treasure.