The Republic of Peru on Tuesday entered the legal fray between Odyssey Marine Exploration and Spain over a 17-ton booty of Colonial-era silver and gold coins discovered at a shipwreck site Odyssey code-named the "Black Swan."
That legal dispute started back in May of 2007 after Odyssey — a Florida based treasure hunting, and deep-sea exploration firm — hauled up over 500,000 silver and gold coins from a 17th-century shipwreck site found on the Atlantic sea floor.
Spain contends the treasure is a part of their country’s cultural heritage and should be returned. Odyssey has said the treasure was found in international waters, and legally retrieved.
The legal battle over the treasure is now pending in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo in Tampa, Florida.
Although not proven, the coin treasure may have come from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish 34-gun frigate that left Peru and was close to home before it was sunk by the British fleet in 1804.
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Tampa treasure hunting firm Odyssey Marine Exploration filed their second 2008 results with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Odyssey reported a decrease of $.6 million in revenue for 2008 that was mostly due to fewer coins sold.
The company provided updates on shipwreck projects, including the 17-ton gold and silver coin find from "Black Swan," the HMS Sussex with a potential cargo of coins, and the high value targets in their "Atlas" Search Project.
Odyssey indicated taping has already begun for the 11-episode primetime TV series for Discovery Channel scheduled to air in early 2009.
Financially, Odyssey’s second quarter revenue fell to $1.1 million compared to $1.7 million in the same period of 2007. The company also reported a net loss of $5.4 million in the second quarter compared with a $6.3 million loss in Q2 of 2007.
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The treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration filed their first quarterly 2008 report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition to updates on their numerous shipwreck projects, the company reported a first quarter revenue of $.3 million with a net loss of $6.8 million. Those compare to 2007’s reports of $2.2 million and $3.8 million respectively.
Greg Stemm, Odyssey’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented,
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A federal judge moved a legal battle forward by ruling Thursday on several counts between Spain and Odyssey Marine Exploration, a deep-sea treasure-hunting firm based in Tampa, Florida. The legal counts revolved around sites and a shipwreck that yielded a potential $500 million in Colonial-era gold and silver coins.
Odyssey discovered a 17-ton bounty of treasure in the Atlantic Ocean last May and since, has found itself in a contested legal battle with Spain over its ownership.
Odyssey says the 17th-century shipwreck, they code-named the “Black Swan”, was found in international waters and the treasure was legally retrieved. Spain contends the treasure is a part of their country’s cultural heritage and should be returned.
In a written ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday covered six counts. Read the rest of this entry »
