The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 21, May 27, 2007, Article 7

BRITISH NEWSPAPER SAYS ODYSSEY STOLE SHIPWRECK LOOT

British newspapers are in an uproar over the treasure salvaged
recently by Odyssey Marine:

"The treasure hunters who recovered gold and silver worth an estimated
'250million from a shipwreck off Cornwall spirited their haul to the
United States in an apparent attempt to stop Britain staking a claim.

"In a highly secretive operation, American firm Odyssey Marine
Exploration worked on the wreck of an English ship, believed to
be the 17th Century Merchant Royal, less than 40 miles from the
British coast.

"But Odyssey carefully avoided landing their treasure on UK soil.

"If the 17 tons of coins, gold ornaments and tableware had been
brought ashore, Odyssey would have been obliged to inform the
Government's Receiver of Wreck, which would probably have impounded
the haul, triggering a potentially lengthy legal row about ownership
rights.

"Instead, the trove was secretly moved to the tax haven of Gibraltar.
Odyssey then chartered a jet to take hundreds of plastic containers
brimming with coins to the United States on Thursday, where they
have been analysed by Nick Bruyer, an expert in antique coinage.

"He said: 'The find is unprecedented. I don't know of anything
equal or comparable to it.'

"Odyssey, which used remote-control submarines - known as remote
operation vehicles (ROVs) - to dive on the wreck, has remained
silent about exactly where the treasure was found, or indeed which
ship it came from."

To read the complete story, see: Full Story

Odyssey Marine Exploration issued a press release on May 21 addressing
several of the key questions asked by reporters. Here are a couple of
interest:

"We have stated clearly that the recovery was conducted in conformity
with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial
waters or legal jurisdiction of any country. We do not believe that the
recovery is subject to sovereign immunity by any nation pursuant to the
Law of the Sea Convention.

"The coins were brought into the United States with a valid export
license granted by the country from which they were exported, and
imported legally pursuant to US Law."

"We can confirm that Odyssey and the Disney organization have recently
entered into a relationship on a number of projects, and that the two
companies are in discussions relative to some new partnership
opportunities.

"We have immense respect for Disney and believe that a combination
of Odyssey's authentic deep-ocean adventures coupled with Disney's
story-telling, film-making, television and marketing capabilities
will reap benefits for both companies, while providing the public
with an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy the thrill of deep-ocean
exploration.

Regarding last week's report on the salvage effort, Lane Brunner of
the American Numismatic Association writes: "Thanks for noting that
the ANA was contacted regarding the recent Odyssey Marine discovery
"Black Swan" in the story 'RECORD SILVER AND GOLD HAUL RECOVERED FROM
SHIPWRECK OFF CORNWALL.'

"While I was indeed interviewed, I actually did not comment on the
location of the shipwreck. The comments regarding the possible location
were made by Mitch Stacy, Associated Press reporter in Tampa, FL, who
was also being interviewed. Somehow, the BBC got us mixed up."

 RECORD SILVER AND GOLD HAUL RECOVERED FROM SHIPWRECK OFF CORNWALL
 esylum_v10n20a16.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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