ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS TREASURE SALVAGE FINANCES

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 29, July 13, 2014, Article 21

Treasure hunting is risky business. If the ocean doesn't swallow your money, the lawyers will. Coincidentally, Nick Graver forwarded this article from Forbes magazine with a map of the locations of several high-profile shipwreck finds and the often poor financial results of the projects. -Editor

Every armchair pirate dreams of finding sunken treasure, but it turns out hauling up chests full of gold bars and pieces of eight is a lousy way to get rich. Recovery usually costs millions of dollars, and even before the loot is on dry land you can look forward to being sued by insurers and other claimants. A few years back Odyssey Marine Exploration OMEX -1.25%, the biggest player in the game, spent $ 2.6 million recovering an estimated $500 million in gold coins from a Spanish shipwreck and then had to give it all back to Spain–plus a $1 million fine. And that’s just one of the misadventure s on our treasure map of misery.

A pirate ship ran aground in 1717 and was discovered in 1982. It’s said to have carried treasure worth $400 million. Salvagers have found artifacts like cannons and the ship’s bell but no massive hoard of gold.

A steamship sinks in a storm in 1865 and is discovered by Odyssey in 2003. In a rare success, Odyssey has recovered enough gold and silver coins to sell $43 million worth.

A Spanish ship sunk in 1622 is discovered in the 1970s by adventurer Mel Fisher, who claims it holds $400 million in gold. Historians suspect the number is closer to $20 million. Fisher’s heirs continue to dive the wreck.

A salvage company signs a deal with Colombia in 1984 to find a ship supposedly laden with billions of dollars’ worth of Spanish treasure and share the proceeds. After the company claims to locate the vessel, Colombia reneges, insisting on full ownership. The matter remains in litigation 30 years later.

Odyssey announces a discovery in 2007, which it code-names “Black Swan,” and extracts an estimated half-billion dollars’ worth of coins. Spain sues for ownership, saying the ship is a naval frigate sunk in 1804, and wins. Odyssey gets nothing and is ordered to pay Spain $1 million for “bad faith and abusive litigation.”

To read the complete article, see: That Sinking Feeling (www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2014/07/02/the-sinking-feeling/)

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