Spain to continue legal action against US treasure hunters

Aug 7, 2007, 15:31 GMT

Madrid - Spain intends to continue pursuing legal action against the US shipwreck recovery company Odyssey Marine Exploration, which it suspects of stealing a treasure belonging to Spain, local media reports said Tuesday.

They quoted sources of the Culture Ministry as saying the ministry was not satisfied with a deep-water archaeological report supplied by Odyssey on the wreck known as the Black Swan.

Odyssey, however, denied presenting such a report, saying it was only submitting a preliminary assessment to the US Federal Court which the ministry had not seen.

The company retrieved from the wreck more than 500,000 silver coins and other objects of an estimated total value of more than 370 million euros (500 million dollars).

Odyssey announced the discovery of the treasure in May after taking it to the United States. It did not disclose the nationality of the wreck, which it described as unclear, nor its location.

The Spanish government suspects that the wreck is Spanish or that it was found in Spanish waters, and lays claim to the treasure.

Spain took the case to a Florida court, which ordered Odyssey to inform Madrid about the discovery.

The Culture Ministry said the report by Odyssey did not contain the requested information. Odyssey, however, stressed that it had informed the US court, not the ministry.