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Row over shipwreck treasure deepens between Spain and US company
May 23, 2007, 12:57 GMT
Madrid - A row between Spain and a US treasure-hunting company over a coin treasure retrieved from a shipwreck deepened Wednesday, with the Madrid daily El Mundo claiming that Odyssey Marine Exploration had given false information about the location of the wreck.
The Florida-based company says it recovered more than 500,000 silver coins, hundreds of gold coins and worked gold from a location beyond the jurisdiction of any country in the Atlantic Ocean.
El Mundo, however, said satellite images used by shipowners to control their vessels showed that Odyssey had been operating at a distance of about 20 kilometres off Cadiz in Spanish territorial waters.
That would allow Spain to lay a legal claim to the treasure, estimated to be worth half a billion dollars (370 million euros), which Odyssey has taken to the United States.
The daily El Pais said the Spanish government had instructed its embassy in Washington to request full information from the company about its discovery.
Odyssey had been granted permission to search for a 17th century British warship in the Strait of Gibraltar, but it located another shipwreck, whose nationality it says it is not certain of.
It has also not disclosed the exact location of the wreck, known as the Black Swan, which contained what is believed to be the biggest underwater coin treasure found so far.
Spain, whose waters are littered with hundreds of shipwrecks, is wary of treasure-hunters who could loot them for commercial purposes.
The Culture Ministry has launched a police investigation into the case.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
This company has spent millions of it's own for exploration in hopes of finding such wrecks. No one says a darn thing until they actually hit the motherlode and then everyones sense of entitlement bubbles up. Finders Keepers seems appropriate for this venture.
'This company has spent millions of it's own for exploration in hopes of finding such wrecks. No one says a darn thing until they actually hit the motherlode and then everyones sense of entitlement bubbles up. Finders Keepers seems appropriate for this venture.'
Wow is that specious reasoning. The rule of law > grade-school rules on ownership. If they spent that much time and money on this 'venture' then they must have been aware of the applicable local and international laws involved and should of known full well where they were when they found something (not that ignorace would be an acceptable defense if they weren't cognacent of such facts anyways). If they really did locate this ship in Spanish territory and took so much as rusty nail from it, they have committed a crime and should forfit those ill-gotten gains and be prosecuted accordingly.
To James Linkin.... Pirates? How can you compare them to pirates? They are salvagers since they didn't actually steal the treasure when someone was on board. I think you need either a) a dictionary, or b) a history lesson. You find me one pirate that has gone to the bottom of the sea (Davy Jones' locker) to look for treasure. Pirates usually go to the bottom of the sea when they're dead. And you're worried about the soft metal of the coins at the bottom of the pile? The coins have been stacked up in some chest since the time that they were sunk, so what difference does it make how they haul it out since some coins will always be at the bottom of the pile.
A lot of the 'outrage' expressed here relates to the fact that some folks hate it when other folks find a way (however legitimate) to prosper.
Probably a large percentage, if not all, of said folks are members of the Democratic Party.
John Edwards company--Fortis investments will get around 10% of the loot
If they were acting legally - and that means with an appropriate exploration licence from Spain - why did they feel it necessary to suddenly ship the coins back to america ? What are they hidning and what are they trying to avoid ?
the american company did not tell the spanish goverment the exact location of the find.the had an agreement to explore and not to extact.
No. The Spanish did not find some magical way to prosper. They simply used brute force, theft, and horrific violence throughout their past. These fuckers want gold they probably originally plundered from somewhere in Latin America at the deaths of God knows how many souls. The excavation team should keep it, and the Spanish should be told to go fuck themselves for even thinking of trying to claim its moral right to anything on the face of this planet.
Further proof of the old adage: What is Socialism but theft?
The Socialist government of Spain seeks, like all such regimes, to reap where it has not sown. There is surely enough wealth here for both sides, but the leftists want it all, as do governments of this ilk everywhere.
And they add hypocrisy. A Spanish spokesman complains that Odyssey was desecrating the resting place of sailors, a horrendous offense. But they want their share of the profits.
Bruce Graham
Winter Park, Florida
page: 1
James LinkinMay 23rd, 2007 - 14:46:12
When I saw the photos of all those coins in plastic bins, I was outraged. The weight of those coins in each bucket is damaging the soft metal of each coin at the bottom of those buckets. Each coin needs to be laid out on a flat surface in a holder so that they don't slide.
Such a lack of care of this treasure is indicative of an attitude of plunder rather than preservation, which ought to be the first consideration. If for no other reason, government archaeologists need to be directly involved.
Then there's the secrecy surrounding this venture. If the loot has now been recovered, then the only reason not to reveal the location of the wreck is to thwart what is likely the legitimate claims of governments. Hey guys, if that's not really your loot, how are you any better than pirates?
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