Odyssey Marine Article...
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jeff k
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New Scientist Article...
Interview: Riches from the ocean floor
10 November 2007
From New Scientist Print Edition.
Is it right for commercial companies to exploit archaeological treasures? Shouldn't they go to museums where the public and researchers could have access to them? John Opperman of salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration, which recently retrieved half a million coins from an Atlantic shipwreck, tells Jim Giles about the thrills of salvage and why his company has every right to profit from what it finds
Objects from shipwrecks are of international archaeological interest. Shouldn't they be salvaged by museum curators rather than commercial companies such as yours?
We are very professional about what we do. Our attitude is never, "That looks cool, let's pick it up." We always have proper conservation plans in place. You have to do an initial survey to know where things are before touching anything. We do that to the level of best practice archaeology. I wish I could take the people who throw mud at us and sit them down and show them what we're doing.
But then you sell the objects. Shouldn't they go into museums?
They should, and we have just opened a museum attraction in Tampa, Florida. I spent all morning moving a cannon we recovered from one of our sites in the Mediterranean. You would be surprised to see the amount of stuff we do archaeological work on and which we keep in our permanent collection: bottles, ceramics, forks, knives, cannonballs. Academics say all we're doing is finding stuff and selling it. Yes, we do offer a portion of our finds to collectors, but only items that are not of cultural value and that we have numerous duplicates of in our inventory collection.
What about making them available to researchers?
We already do that. We will also shortly make several of our archaeological reports available to the public on our website.
Your company recently found a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean which you code-named Black Swan, and from which you have recovered 500,000 silver coins worth up to $500 million. The Spanish government claims it may own the cargo. What are the issues here?
I can't say anything more yet about the coins or the ship's location. All I can say is that it's a colonial vessel found in international waters in the Atlantic. We're trying our best to find out what ship it is. I wasn't on our vessel when we discovered it, but it was still an absolute high. We had stumbled across something that was so wonderful. It was a Eureka moment. I celebrated with a nice bottle of champagne - though it would have been apple juice out there, as there is never alcohol on our ships.
There has also been controversy over another ship you've found, which you think is HMS Sussex and which the Spanish are laying claim to.
HMS Sussex went down off the coast of Spain in 1694. It was carrying coins that the British government planned to use to buy the support of the Duke of Savoy in the war against France. We did two months of work on a site in the Mediterranean off the Spanish coast in December 2005 and January 2006, and we think it's the Sussex but we can't say for sure at this point. The work stopped because we had protesters in boats coming out to our ship. That was a threat to navigation and the safety of the crew. I guess the protesters were Spanish citizens who think they have a legitimate claim to the Sussex. Our work was temporarily halted by the Spanish government in 2006 but an agreement in March 2007 between the governments of Spain, Andalusia and the UK authorised us to continue. We are awaiting the appointment of two Andalusian archaeologists, who will be joining us on board as observers.
Who does own the Sussex?
The British government. The Sussex was clearly on a military mission; it was sovereign to England. That's what I don't understand about the Spanish reaction. The British government retained our services on a contractor basis, and together we arrived at a fair arrangement as compensation for our recovery work and expertise.
What happens when you find the wreck of a commercial ship?
If it's a merchant vessel the question is who insured it and is that company still operating today, because they would have paid out a claim. The SS Republic, which we discovered in 2003, 160 kilometres off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, is a perfect example. We found the insurance company - Atlantic Mutual. They paid out a claim in 1865, so technically they own the site. We bought out their interests and received title to it.
Was there anything special about the Republic?
It went down in 1865. It was a key vessel for providing goods to New Orleans after the American civil war. We recovered approximately 50,000 coins and 14,000 artefacts from the site, which was only part of what she carried. One of the things we found was a bottle of Lee & Perrin's Worcester sauce. You pick that up and you say, "Wow, the last time someone handled this was 140 years ago!" That's the coolest thing in the world. Every ship is a time capsule. Life on a ship stops the moment it goes under the water.
CALLOUT BOX “We found a bottle of Worcester sauce, last handled 140 years ago”
How do you go about identifying ships to search for?
It's amazing what you can find in archives. Most of the information lies in old records held in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. Archives contain manifests of ships - a list of what was on board. We're looking for evidence of highly valuable cargo: silver coins, gold coins, diamonds, jewels, but if a site is archaeologically or historically rich we don't just throw out what we find because it's not lucrative. We're not only looking for money and treasure.
A lot of information about where ships have sunk is hit and miss. If a ship burned for three days, people got off it and no one saw it sink: that's not good location information. Plus, people often knew the latitude, but east and west was more tricky. We've seen ships that were 100 kilometres from where they should have been. We look at information such as whether lifeboats were picked up, what the prevailing winds would have been for that time of year, how big the vessel was, how many sails it had, and put it all through an algorithm that tells us the spots with the highest probability of finding what we're looking for. That can cut down the search region from 2500 square kilometres to less than 150.
How many wrecks do you have lined up to investigate?
We have a database of 3000 shipwrecks. We discount anything in shallow water: we assume that if people can access a site easily then they've probably picked over it. We find ships every day. But we never see a name on the back. We have to do the forensics to identify the vessel.
Profile
John Opperman has been director of archaeology, research and conservation at Odyssey Marine Exploration in Tampa, Florida, for three years. His training includes degrees in operational management and computer systems and an MBA in finance.
Interview: Riches from the ocean floor
10 November 2007
From New Scientist Print Edition.
Is it right for commercial companies to exploit archaeological treasures? Shouldn't they go to museums where the public and researchers could have access to them? John Opperman of salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration, which recently retrieved half a million coins from an Atlantic shipwreck, tells Jim Giles about the thrills of salvage and why his company has every right to profit from what it finds
Objects from shipwrecks are of international archaeological interest. Shouldn't they be salvaged by museum curators rather than commercial companies such as yours?
We are very professional about what we do. Our attitude is never, "That looks cool, let's pick it up." We always have proper conservation plans in place. You have to do an initial survey to know where things are before touching anything. We do that to the level of best practice archaeology. I wish I could take the people who throw mud at us and sit them down and show them what we're doing.
But then you sell the objects. Shouldn't they go into museums?
They should, and we have just opened a museum attraction in Tampa, Florida. I spent all morning moving a cannon we recovered from one of our sites in the Mediterranean. You would be surprised to see the amount of stuff we do archaeological work on and which we keep in our permanent collection: bottles, ceramics, forks, knives, cannonballs. Academics say all we're doing is finding stuff and selling it. Yes, we do offer a portion of our finds to collectors, but only items that are not of cultural value and that we have numerous duplicates of in our inventory collection.
What about making them available to researchers?
We already do that. We will also shortly make several of our archaeological reports available to the public on our website.
Your company recently found a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean which you code-named Black Swan, and from which you have recovered 500,000 silver coins worth up to $500 million. The Spanish government claims it may own the cargo. What are the issues here?
I can't say anything more yet about the coins or the ship's location. All I can say is that it's a colonial vessel found in international waters in the Atlantic. We're trying our best to find out what ship it is. I wasn't on our vessel when we discovered it, but it was still an absolute high. We had stumbled across something that was so wonderful. It was a Eureka moment. I celebrated with a nice bottle of champagne - though it would have been apple juice out there, as there is never alcohol on our ships.
There has also been controversy over another ship you've found, which you think is HMS Sussex and which the Spanish are laying claim to.
HMS Sussex went down off the coast of Spain in 1694. It was carrying coins that the British government planned to use to buy the support of the Duke of Savoy in the war against France. We did two months of work on a site in the Mediterranean off the Spanish coast in December 2005 and January 2006, and we think it's the Sussex but we can't say for sure at this point. The work stopped because we had protesters in boats coming out to our ship. That was a threat to navigation and the safety of the crew. I guess the protesters were Spanish citizens who think they have a legitimate claim to the Sussex. Our work was temporarily halted by the Spanish government in 2006 but an agreement in March 2007 between the governments of Spain, Andalusia and the UK authorised us to continue. We are awaiting the appointment of two Andalusian archaeologists, who will be joining us on board as observers.
Who does own the Sussex?
The British government. The Sussex was clearly on a military mission; it was sovereign to England. That's what I don't understand about the Spanish reaction. The British government retained our services on a contractor basis, and together we arrived at a fair arrangement as compensation for our recovery work and expertise.
What happens when you find the wreck of a commercial ship?
If it's a merchant vessel the question is who insured it and is that company still operating today, because they would have paid out a claim. The SS Republic, which we discovered in 2003, 160 kilometres off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, is a perfect example. We found the insurance company - Atlantic Mutual. They paid out a claim in 1865, so technically they own the site. We bought out their interests and received title to it.
Was there anything special about the Republic?
It went down in 1865. It was a key vessel for providing goods to New Orleans after the American civil war. We recovered approximately 50,000 coins and 14,000 artefacts from the site, which was only part of what she carried. One of the things we found was a bottle of Lee & Perrin's Worcester sauce. You pick that up and you say, "Wow, the last time someone handled this was 140 years ago!" That's the coolest thing in the world. Every ship is a time capsule. Life on a ship stops the moment it goes under the water.
CALLOUT BOX “We found a bottle of Worcester sauce, last handled 140 years ago”
How do you go about identifying ships to search for?
It's amazing what you can find in archives. Most of the information lies in old records held in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. Archives contain manifests of ships - a list of what was on board. We're looking for evidence of highly valuable cargo: silver coins, gold coins, diamonds, jewels, but if a site is archaeologically or historically rich we don't just throw out what we find because it's not lucrative. We're not only looking for money and treasure.
A lot of information about where ships have sunk is hit and miss. If a ship burned for three days, people got off it and no one saw it sink: that's not good location information. Plus, people often knew the latitude, but east and west was more tricky. We've seen ships that were 100 kilometres from where they should have been. We look at information such as whether lifeboats were picked up, what the prevailing winds would have been for that time of year, how big the vessel was, how many sails it had, and put it all through an algorithm that tells us the spots with the highest probability of finding what we're looking for. That can cut down the search region from 2500 square kilometres to less than 150.
How many wrecks do you have lined up to investigate?
We have a database of 3000 shipwrecks. We discount anything in shallow water: we assume that if people can access a site easily then they've probably picked over it. We find ships every day. But we never see a name on the back. We have to do the forensics to identify the vessel.
Profile
John Opperman has been director of archaeology, research and conservation at Odyssey Marine Exploration in Tampa, Florida, for three years. His training includes degrees in operational management and computer systems and an MBA in finance.
jeff k
Bronze Member
- #43
Thread Owner
Recover $20,000 in Shipwreck Treasure from the Valpak Envelope
Thursday, November 29, 2007; Posted: 10:02 AM
LARGO, Fla., Nov 29, 2007 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- MEXP | charts | news | PowerRating -- Valpak, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Odyssey Marine Exploration have teamed up to bring a bounty of fun to consumers this holiday season.
In celebration of the release of National Treasure: Book of Secrets, in theaters December 21, consumers can look inside their Valpak envelope to find a "key" that will unlock free movie tickets or a $20,000 treasure -- courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Between now and the end of the year, over 40 million Valpak envelopes will feature a "mystery word" on the outside for consumers to decipher. Consumers are prompted to look inside their blue Valpak envelope or visit www.Valpak.com to find the "answer key" to decipher the word. Consumers can enter to win at www.Valpak.com or by completing the entry form printed inside the envelope.
This marks the 5th time that the Valpak envelope has featured a Disney theatrical release. Previous films include Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille, Disney's Meet the Robinsons, Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
Thursday, November 29, 2007; Posted: 10:02 AM
LARGO, Fla., Nov 29, 2007 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- MEXP | charts | news | PowerRating -- Valpak, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Odyssey Marine Exploration have teamed up to bring a bounty of fun to consumers this holiday season.
In celebration of the release of National Treasure: Book of Secrets, in theaters December 21, consumers can look inside their Valpak envelope to find a "key" that will unlock free movie tickets or a $20,000 treasure -- courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Between now and the end of the year, over 40 million Valpak envelopes will feature a "mystery word" on the outside for consumers to decipher. Consumers are prompted to look inside their blue Valpak envelope or visit www.Valpak.com to find the "answer key" to decipher the word. Consumers can enter to win at www.Valpak.com or by completing the entry form printed inside the envelope.
This marks the 5th time that the Valpak envelope has featured a Disney theatrical release. Previous films include Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille, Disney's Meet the Robinsons, Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
jeff k
Bronze Member
- #44
Thread Owner
UK Foreign Office reasserts Gibraltar’s territorial waters...
The United Kingdom’s position on Gibraltar’s territorial waters was made clear in unequivocal terms to a group of MPs charged with scrutinizing British foreign affairs, it has emerged, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons requested information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after a ship operated by Odyssey Marine Exploration was detained by Spain 3.5 miles off Europa Point last July.
The response from the FCO was published this week in the committee’s annual report on overseas territories and the language is uncharacteristically blunt.
“We categorically reject the Spanish view, and we do not allow Spain’s assertion that Gibraltar has no territorial waters to go unchallenged,” wrote Richard Cooke, head of the Parliamentary Relations Team at the FCO, in his response to the MPs.
He also made clear, however, that Spain likewise rejects the British view.
The British Government claims three nautical miles of territorial waters around Gibraltar and believes that under international law, the nine miles beyond that limit are high seas and cannot be claimed by another State.
Spain, however, claims those nine miles as Spanish waters.
It was in this area that Odyssey’s ship was detained.
“Spain maintains that the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which granted sovereignty over Gibraltar to Britain, ceded only the town and castle, together with the Rock’s fortifications and its port,” Mr Cooke told MPs.
“Spain therefore disputes our claim that, as a result of later developments in international law…Gibraltar generates its own territorial waters”.
The Foreign Office also stated to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that independence for Gibraltar would only be an option with Spanish consent because of the Treaty of Utrecht.
FOC submitted a memorandum in response to an invitation from the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs to provide information on the exercise by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of its responsibilities in relation to the Overseas Territories.
“Sovereignty,” it observes,” is also an ongoing issue for Gibraltar, where Spain recognizes British sovereignty over the Rock, but not over the isthmus, waters surrounding the Rock (with the exception of the port), or adjoining the isthmus, or airspace over the entire Territory. The UK supports the right or principle of self-determination, but this must be exercised in accordance with the UN Charter and with other treaty obligations”.
“In Gibraltar’s case this includes the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, whereby sovereignty over the Rock was ceded to Britain, but the Treaty provides that, were the UK to relinquish sovereignty, the right of first refusal would be given to Spain. Thus independence would only be an option with Spanish consent. The UK has repeatedly made it clear, however, that it will not enter into any arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state, against their freely and democratically agreed wishes. Furthermore the UK has made it clear it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.”
The United Kingdom’s position on Gibraltar’s territorial waters was made clear in unequivocal terms to a group of MPs charged with scrutinizing British foreign affairs, it has emerged, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons requested information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after a ship operated by Odyssey Marine Exploration was detained by Spain 3.5 miles off Europa Point last July.
The response from the FCO was published this week in the committee’s annual report on overseas territories and the language is uncharacteristically blunt.
“We categorically reject the Spanish view, and we do not allow Spain’s assertion that Gibraltar has no territorial waters to go unchallenged,” wrote Richard Cooke, head of the Parliamentary Relations Team at the FCO, in his response to the MPs.
He also made clear, however, that Spain likewise rejects the British view.
The British Government claims three nautical miles of territorial waters around Gibraltar and believes that under international law, the nine miles beyond that limit are high seas and cannot be claimed by another State.
Spain, however, claims those nine miles as Spanish waters.
It was in this area that Odyssey’s ship was detained.
“Spain maintains that the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which granted sovereignty over Gibraltar to Britain, ceded only the town and castle, together with the Rock’s fortifications and its port,” Mr Cooke told MPs.
“Spain therefore disputes our claim that, as a result of later developments in international law…Gibraltar generates its own territorial waters”.
The Foreign Office also stated to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that independence for Gibraltar would only be an option with Spanish consent because of the Treaty of Utrecht.
FOC submitted a memorandum in response to an invitation from the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs to provide information on the exercise by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of its responsibilities in relation to the Overseas Territories.
“Sovereignty,” it observes,” is also an ongoing issue for Gibraltar, where Spain recognizes British sovereignty over the Rock, but not over the isthmus, waters surrounding the Rock (with the exception of the port), or adjoining the isthmus, or airspace over the entire Territory. The UK supports the right or principle of self-determination, but this must be exercised in accordance with the UN Charter and with other treaty obligations”.
“In Gibraltar’s case this includes the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, whereby sovereignty over the Rock was ceded to Britain, but the Treaty provides that, were the UK to relinquish sovereignty, the right of first refusal would be given to Spain. Thus independence would only be an option with Spanish consent. The UK has repeatedly made it clear, however, that it will not enter into any arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state, against their freely and democratically agreed wishes. Furthermore the UK has made it clear it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.”
jeff k
Bronze Member
- #45
Thread Owner
Media Appearance...
Friday, December 21, 2007
2.50 pm Eastern
Greg Stemm on C-NBC ("Street Signs" with Erin Burnett)
Check your local listings for times and channel information in your area.
* Scheduled appearances may be postponed or cancelled due to events beyond Odyssey's control. This page will be updated as we receive additional information.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838408/site/14081545/
Friday, December 21, 2007
2.50 pm Eastern
Greg Stemm on C-NBC ("Street Signs" with Erin Burnett)
Check your local listings for times and channel information in your area.
* Scheduled appearances may be postponed or cancelled due to events beyond Odyssey's control. This page will be updated as we receive additional information.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838408/site/14081545/
shipwreckhunter101
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It seems to me that they were going about this the wrong way, OMEX should have set up some sort of agreement with the Spanish Government. I've dove those waters, they are very vigilant about their "national treasures". Spain has a lot of legal precedent in place to argue that its their ship and that they have the "rights" over it.
Unfortunately they are also a bit xenophobic over claims. I think a good legal team should have drafted a term sheet with the Spanish before they started recovery. It was awfully sneaky and deceptive.
Unfortunately they are also a bit xenophobic over claims. I think a good legal team should have drafted a term sheet with the Spanish before they started recovery. It was awfully sneaky and deceptive.
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- All Treasure Hunting
Welcome aboard Shipwreckhunter101.
Tom
Tom
jeff k
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Odyssey Marine Exploration Appoints Greg Stemm as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Monday January 7, 5:15 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq:OMEX - News), the world leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, has appointed Odyssey Co-founder Greg Stemm to the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board effective January 3, 2008. The Board also appointed two new directors, Mark D. Gordon and Bradford B. Baker, and selected Dr. David Bederman to serve as Lead Director effective January 1, 2008.
Stemm will replace Co-founder John C. Morris as CEO and Chairman who on January 3, 2008 transitioned to a consulting role with Odyssey Marine Exploration.
“John Morris and I have worked together as a team building Odyssey from the ground up into the leading shipwreck exploration company in the world,” commented Greg Stemm, incoming CEO and Chairman. “Throughout the years, John has been an invaluable friend and an integral contributor to the Company’s successful development. Today, Odyssey is in the strongest position, both financially and strategically, that we have ever been in, and I am confident that the momentum will continue uninterrupted. I am very pleased to have the benefit of John’s strategic thinking and input as he continues to serve Odyssey as a consultant.”
“As many of our friends and investors know, I have been dealing with serious health issues for some time now. I have therefore made the decision that it is in Odyssey’s best interest that Greg takes over my offices. I am very proud of what we have built over the years, and with Greg at the helm I feel fully confident about the Company’s future. I am excited to still be able to serve Odyssey by providing ongoing consulting services, and by continuing to maintain a substantial amount of my personal assets in the Company,” said John C. Morris, outgoing CEO and Chairman.
Greg Stemm has served as Executive Vice President and as a member of the Board of Directors since May 1994, and as Co-Chairman since February 2006. Mr. Stemm has extensive experience in managing all aspects of shipwreck exploration operations since entering the field in 1986, including deep-ocean search and robotic archaeological excavation on a number of projects. A pioneer in the emerging field of deep-ocean exploration, he has played a primary role in the development of new technologies and the development of private sector standards for underwater cultural heritage resource management. A panelist at the 1998 Law of the Sea Institute, Stemm was appointed for four consecutive terms to the United States delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expert meeting to negotiate the "Draft Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage."
Stemm was selected as a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and was the founder and past-president of the Professional Shipwreck Explorers Association (ProSEA). He also served as a founding director (1986-93) and international president (1992-93) of YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Organization) and was also a founding member of the World Entrepreneurs Organization, where he served on the International Board of Directors (1997-98).
Mark D. Gordon, current Odyssey President and Chief Operating Officer, and Brad Baker both joined the Odyssey Board of Directors on January 1, 2008.
Mark D. Gordon joined Odyssey Marine Exploration in January 2005. He was appointed Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development in January 2007, and President and Chief Operating Officer in October 2007. Prior to joining Odyssey Gordon owned and managed four different entrepreneurial ventures from 1987 to 2003 including Synergy Networks which he sold to the Rockefeller Group in 2003. He subsequently served as President of Rockefeller Group Technology Services Mid Atlantic (RGTSMA), a member of Rockefeller Group International, from September 2003 to December 2004.
Brad Baker re-joined the Odyssey Board of Directors after a successful first tenure from 1997, prior to the Company going public, until his resignation in 2000. A nationally recognized business leader, manager, and strategist who has successfully guided several companies through explosive growth, Mr. Baker currently serves as CEO of Nexus Biometrics, Inc., a leading fingerprint biometric company he founded in 2004. He is also President of Bramar Developers, Inc., a large scale real estate development company which he founded in 1998. Mr. Baker will be serving on the compensation, audit and governance committees.
In addition, Dr. David Bederman, one of the world’s leading admiralty lawyers and a professor of law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia has been named Lead Director. A board member since January 2006, he will continue to serve on the governance and compensation committees and also assist the Chairman of the Board with board management and leadership.
Monday January 7, 5:15 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq:OMEX - News), the world leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, has appointed Odyssey Co-founder Greg Stemm to the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board effective January 3, 2008. The Board also appointed two new directors, Mark D. Gordon and Bradford B. Baker, and selected Dr. David Bederman to serve as Lead Director effective January 1, 2008.
Stemm will replace Co-founder John C. Morris as CEO and Chairman who on January 3, 2008 transitioned to a consulting role with Odyssey Marine Exploration.
“John Morris and I have worked together as a team building Odyssey from the ground up into the leading shipwreck exploration company in the world,” commented Greg Stemm, incoming CEO and Chairman. “Throughout the years, John has been an invaluable friend and an integral contributor to the Company’s successful development. Today, Odyssey is in the strongest position, both financially and strategically, that we have ever been in, and I am confident that the momentum will continue uninterrupted. I am very pleased to have the benefit of John’s strategic thinking and input as he continues to serve Odyssey as a consultant.”
“As many of our friends and investors know, I have been dealing with serious health issues for some time now. I have therefore made the decision that it is in Odyssey’s best interest that Greg takes over my offices. I am very proud of what we have built over the years, and with Greg at the helm I feel fully confident about the Company’s future. I am excited to still be able to serve Odyssey by providing ongoing consulting services, and by continuing to maintain a substantial amount of my personal assets in the Company,” said John C. Morris, outgoing CEO and Chairman.
Greg Stemm has served as Executive Vice President and as a member of the Board of Directors since May 1994, and as Co-Chairman since February 2006. Mr. Stemm has extensive experience in managing all aspects of shipwreck exploration operations since entering the field in 1986, including deep-ocean search and robotic archaeological excavation on a number of projects. A pioneer in the emerging field of deep-ocean exploration, he has played a primary role in the development of new technologies and the development of private sector standards for underwater cultural heritage resource management. A panelist at the 1998 Law of the Sea Institute, Stemm was appointed for four consecutive terms to the United States delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expert meeting to negotiate the "Draft Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage."
Stemm was selected as a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and was the founder and past-president of the Professional Shipwreck Explorers Association (ProSEA). He also served as a founding director (1986-93) and international president (1992-93) of YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Organization) and was also a founding member of the World Entrepreneurs Organization, where he served on the International Board of Directors (1997-98).
Mark D. Gordon, current Odyssey President and Chief Operating Officer, and Brad Baker both joined the Odyssey Board of Directors on January 1, 2008.
Mark D. Gordon joined Odyssey Marine Exploration in January 2005. He was appointed Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development in January 2007, and President and Chief Operating Officer in October 2007. Prior to joining Odyssey Gordon owned and managed four different entrepreneurial ventures from 1987 to 2003 including Synergy Networks which he sold to the Rockefeller Group in 2003. He subsequently served as President of Rockefeller Group Technology Services Mid Atlantic (RGTSMA), a member of Rockefeller Group International, from September 2003 to December 2004.
Brad Baker re-joined the Odyssey Board of Directors after a successful first tenure from 1997, prior to the Company going public, until his resignation in 2000. A nationally recognized business leader, manager, and strategist who has successfully guided several companies through explosive growth, Mr. Baker currently serves as CEO of Nexus Biometrics, Inc., a leading fingerprint biometric company he founded in 2004. He is also President of Bramar Developers, Inc., a large scale real estate development company which he founded in 1998. Mr. Baker will be serving on the compensation, audit and governance committees.
In addition, Dr. David Bederman, one of the world’s leading admiralty lawyers and a professor of law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia has been named Lead Director. A board member since January 2006, he will continue to serve on the governance and compensation committees and also assist the Chairman of the Board with board management and leadership.
Gringo
Jr. Member
You seem to be quite familiar with Gregg Stemm and John Morris. So am I, but back from an earlier time.
I could tell you some stories about them back in their "Seahawk Marine" days, but would probably get sued or worse.
I could tell you some stories about them back in their "Seahawk Marine" days, but would probably get sued or worse.
oldhermit34
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Sounds to me like Spain, as always, take, take, take. International water is what it is.
jeff k
Bronze Member
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Thread Owner
Explorers will share details of shipwreck sites with Spain
Posted on Thu, Jan. 10
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Spanish government will receive detailed information about three shipwreck sites where a Florida company found an estimated $500 million of colonial-era coins and artifacts last year, but those facts will not be made public, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Odyssey Marine Exploration will share the exact location of the shipwrecks and items found onboard, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo said.
The Tampa-based company flew 17 tons of silver coins and other artifacts to the U.S. in May. It refused to disclose where in the Atlantic Ocean it found the wrecks, concerned that other firms may plunder or destroy the sites.
"These are treasures that we do not want to see true pirates take away," said Allen von Spiegelfeld, an attorney representing Odyssey.
Spain has contended in federal court that it is entitled to the treasure if it is one of its sunken ships, or if the artifacts were removed from the country's territorial waters.
The two sides have been at odds for months over the discoveries, with Spain detaining some of the firm's ships and demanding that Odyssey deliver more information about their finds. Odyssey's attorneys refused without a confidentiality agreement, which Pizzo approved Thursday.
Within two weeks, Odyssey will turn over the information. Spanish representatives will also be allowed to view the treasure.
Pizzo refused to require Spain to keep a list of who has access to the information Odyssey provides about the wrecks.
The agreement is "best for everybody," Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm said after the hearing. He acknowledged it has been hard for Spanish officials to determine how much of an interest they have in the treasure without knowing what it is or where it came from.
"Now we can talk about the facts," Stemm said.
Odyssey officials have dubbed the recovery project "Black Swan" and have declined to discuss details of the coins or any other artifacts. The publicly traded company said the secrecy is needed to preserve trade secrets and squelch speculation about the actual value of the booty that could affect its stock price.
James Goold, a Washington attorney who is representing Spain, acknowledged that the government may decide it has no claim to the shipwrecks after viewing the information.
But he argued Thursday that Spanish officials needed precise information so that government entities - such as the navy - could protect the site if necessary.
Pizzo wondered aloud how much the coordinates would help Spain in determining whether it had rights to the ship. "There wasn't GPS in 1492," Pizzo quipped.
The shipwreck is not that old. Odyssey representatives said in court that the main wreckage is an 18th century vessel. Another of the shipwrecks that was found is apparently an Italian ship, according to comments made in court Thursday.
Goold said Spain is not interested in examining the shipwrecks firsthand. Odyssey will provide videos and photos taken from the sites as part of Pizzo's order.
The two sides are scheduled to return to court in March to discuss whether the case will move forward. Any future disputes about whether information should be released will be decided by Pizzo, but those discussions will occur behind closed doors.
Posted on Thu, Jan. 10
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Spanish government will receive detailed information about three shipwreck sites where a Florida company found an estimated $500 million of colonial-era coins and artifacts last year, but those facts will not be made public, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Odyssey Marine Exploration will share the exact location of the shipwrecks and items found onboard, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo said.
The Tampa-based company flew 17 tons of silver coins and other artifacts to the U.S. in May. It refused to disclose where in the Atlantic Ocean it found the wrecks, concerned that other firms may plunder or destroy the sites.
"These are treasures that we do not want to see true pirates take away," said Allen von Spiegelfeld, an attorney representing Odyssey.
Spain has contended in federal court that it is entitled to the treasure if it is one of its sunken ships, or if the artifacts were removed from the country's territorial waters.
The two sides have been at odds for months over the discoveries, with Spain detaining some of the firm's ships and demanding that Odyssey deliver more information about their finds. Odyssey's attorneys refused without a confidentiality agreement, which Pizzo approved Thursday.
Within two weeks, Odyssey will turn over the information. Spanish representatives will also be allowed to view the treasure.
Pizzo refused to require Spain to keep a list of who has access to the information Odyssey provides about the wrecks.
The agreement is "best for everybody," Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm said after the hearing. He acknowledged it has been hard for Spanish officials to determine how much of an interest they have in the treasure without knowing what it is or where it came from.
"Now we can talk about the facts," Stemm said.
Odyssey officials have dubbed the recovery project "Black Swan" and have declined to discuss details of the coins or any other artifacts. The publicly traded company said the secrecy is needed to preserve trade secrets and squelch speculation about the actual value of the booty that could affect its stock price.
James Goold, a Washington attorney who is representing Spain, acknowledged that the government may decide it has no claim to the shipwrecks after viewing the information.
But he argued Thursday that Spanish officials needed precise information so that government entities - such as the navy - could protect the site if necessary.
Pizzo wondered aloud how much the coordinates would help Spain in determining whether it had rights to the ship. "There wasn't GPS in 1492," Pizzo quipped.
The shipwreck is not that old. Odyssey representatives said in court that the main wreckage is an 18th century vessel. Another of the shipwrecks that was found is apparently an Italian ship, according to comments made in court Thursday.
Goold said Spain is not interested in examining the shipwrecks firsthand. Odyssey will provide videos and photos taken from the sites as part of Pizzo's order.
The two sides are scheduled to return to court in March to discuss whether the case will move forward. Any future disputes about whether information should be released will be decided by Pizzo, but those discussions will occur behind closed doors.
jeff k
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Thread Owner
Court Grants Odyssey's Motion for Protective Order in Pending Admiralty Cases
Friday January 11, 1:14 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq:OMEX - News), the world’s leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration announced today that its Motion for a Protective Order which will govern discovery and evidence exchanged with Spain in the case of the three pending Admiralty Arrests was granted. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo of the U.S. District Court’s Tampa Division, which has jurisdiction over the cases, agreed to enter the Protective Order as presented by Odyssey with some clarifications requested by Spain. He had previously indicated that Spain would have to agree to a Protective Order before site information was released to them.
At a pretrial conference on Thursday, the Court underscored the importance of protecting the site and avoiding any release of confidential information. In the spirit of cooperation in protecting the site, Odyssey volunteered to provide to Spain the precise locations of the sites rather than a general area, as originally requested by Spain.
Within 14 days of the issuance of the Protective Order, in addition to the locations, Odyssey will provide Spain information about all three sites including photomosaics of the sites and information about artifacts recovered to date. Odyssey also agreed to provide Spain’s experts access to the artifacts recovered from the sites.
The Company had offered this information to Spain since the beginning of the legal process, but insisted that a Confidentiality Agreement or a Protective Order was in place that would serve to protect information which might endanger the site if leaked or disclosed.
“We are glad to finally get to the stage in this process where we can furnish information to Spain. As reflected in our pleadings, we have always intended to do so, but we needed to have the Protective Order in place to assure confidentiality. We are pleased that the Court saw the importance of such an order,” said Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey’s General Counsel. “This should lay to rest much of the false and misleading information put out in the Spanish media which some Spanish authorities have apparently been relying upon.”
Magistrate Pizzo indicated at the hearing that further operations at the sites by Odyssey were authorized and that any interference by Spain may result in sanctions under the Order. The Court also emphasized that in the event of a breach of confidentiality or violation of the Protective Order, the Court could grant whatever remedy it may deem appropriate, including dismissal of Spain's claim.
Spain had filed claims for all three pending Admiralty cases following Odyssey’s May 2007 announcement of the archaeological recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins from a Colonial era site code-named “Black Swan” outside the territorial waters or jurisdiction of any sovereign nation.
Friday January 11, 1:14 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq:OMEX - News), the world’s leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration announced today that its Motion for a Protective Order which will govern discovery and evidence exchanged with Spain in the case of the three pending Admiralty Arrests was granted. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo of the U.S. District Court’s Tampa Division, which has jurisdiction over the cases, agreed to enter the Protective Order as presented by Odyssey with some clarifications requested by Spain. He had previously indicated that Spain would have to agree to a Protective Order before site information was released to them.
At a pretrial conference on Thursday, the Court underscored the importance of protecting the site and avoiding any release of confidential information. In the spirit of cooperation in protecting the site, Odyssey volunteered to provide to Spain the precise locations of the sites rather than a general area, as originally requested by Spain.
Within 14 days of the issuance of the Protective Order, in addition to the locations, Odyssey will provide Spain information about all three sites including photomosaics of the sites and information about artifacts recovered to date. Odyssey also agreed to provide Spain’s experts access to the artifacts recovered from the sites.
The Company had offered this information to Spain since the beginning of the legal process, but insisted that a Confidentiality Agreement or a Protective Order was in place that would serve to protect information which might endanger the site if leaked or disclosed.
“We are glad to finally get to the stage in this process where we can furnish information to Spain. As reflected in our pleadings, we have always intended to do so, but we needed to have the Protective Order in place to assure confidentiality. We are pleased that the Court saw the importance of such an order,” said Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey’s General Counsel. “This should lay to rest much of the false and misleading information put out in the Spanish media which some Spanish authorities have apparently been relying upon.”
Magistrate Pizzo indicated at the hearing that further operations at the sites by Odyssey were authorized and that any interference by Spain may result in sanctions under the Order. The Court also emphasized that in the event of a breach of confidentiality or violation of the Protective Order, the Court could grant whatever remedy it may deem appropriate, including dismissal of Spain's claim.
Spain had filed claims for all three pending Admiralty cases following Odyssey’s May 2007 announcement of the archaeological recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins from a Colonial era site code-named “Black Swan” outside the territorial waters or jurisdiction of any sovereign nation.
jeff k
Bronze Member
- #53
Thread Owner
Illegal insider trading of Odyssey is alleged
A contractor settles the matter with the SEC.
By SCOTT BARANCIK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 18, 2008
A senior Odyssey Marine Exploration contractor credited with spotting the priceless "Black Swan" shipwreck last year engaged in illegal insider trading of the Tampa company's stock, federal regulators said Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale resident Ernie Tapanes, 39, allegedly began acquiring Odyssey stock via an E-Trade brokerage account last April, shortly after he discovered an anomaly on the ocean floor near Gibraltar.
By the time company executives publicly unveiled Odyssey's find in May - along with its haul of more than 500,000 silver and gold coins - Tapanes had secretly purchased 42,000 shares at a cost of roughly $150,000. He subsequently sold the shares for a $107,000 profit as Odyssey's stock price skyrocketed.
Tapanes, a Canadian citizen and native of Cuba who has worked closely with Odyssey since 2002, had signed a confidentiality and no-trading agreement the same day he began trading its stock. Under a consent deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he has agreed to relinquish his profit and pay an additional $107,000 penalty while neither admitting nor denying guilt.
No other Odyssey employees or contractors are under suspicion. "Our investigation is essentially concluded," Teresa Verges, an assistant director of the SEC's southeast region in Miami, said in an interview.
Odyssey executives distanced themselves from Tapanes on Thursday. In a written statement, the treasure-hunting company identified him as "one of many independent consultants" and "not a direct employee." But published accounts show that the quiet, cigar-smoking Tapanes has been an integral part of the company's success.
A book advertised on Odyssey's Web site, Lost Gold of the Republic, said Tapanes, an engineer, was in charge of Odyssey's first lucrative discovery, the wreck of the Civil War-era SS Republic, in 2003. Tapanes is credited with deciding to revisit the wreck site after a crew member dismissed it as "just a sailboat." He even was responsible for choosing Odyssey's 113-foot-long search vessel, having bought and then given it to the company in exchange for a chunk of stock. Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm called him "one of the best hires the company ever made."
Last year, as Odyssey searched for the ship code-named "Black Swan," Tapanes was chief surveyor and the person who first spotted the wreckage. Company officials did not respond to an e-mail late Thursday as to Tapanes' current status with Odyssey.
Federal prosecutors could follow with criminal charges. But Peter Henning, a professor at the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit and former SEC enforcement official, said it is unlikely that Tapanes will be charged; the profit was relatively small, Tapanes has no apparent ties to the securities industry, and he cooperated. "You just can't do every case," Henning said.
A contractor settles the matter with the SEC.
By SCOTT BARANCIK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 18, 2008
A senior Odyssey Marine Exploration contractor credited with spotting the priceless "Black Swan" shipwreck last year engaged in illegal insider trading of the Tampa company's stock, federal regulators said Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale resident Ernie Tapanes, 39, allegedly began acquiring Odyssey stock via an E-Trade brokerage account last April, shortly after he discovered an anomaly on the ocean floor near Gibraltar.
By the time company executives publicly unveiled Odyssey's find in May - along with its haul of more than 500,000 silver and gold coins - Tapanes had secretly purchased 42,000 shares at a cost of roughly $150,000. He subsequently sold the shares for a $107,000 profit as Odyssey's stock price skyrocketed.
Tapanes, a Canadian citizen and native of Cuba who has worked closely with Odyssey since 2002, had signed a confidentiality and no-trading agreement the same day he began trading its stock. Under a consent deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he has agreed to relinquish his profit and pay an additional $107,000 penalty while neither admitting nor denying guilt.
No other Odyssey employees or contractors are under suspicion. "Our investigation is essentially concluded," Teresa Verges, an assistant director of the SEC's southeast region in Miami, said in an interview.
Odyssey executives distanced themselves from Tapanes on Thursday. In a written statement, the treasure-hunting company identified him as "one of many independent consultants" and "not a direct employee." But published accounts show that the quiet, cigar-smoking Tapanes has been an integral part of the company's success.
A book advertised on Odyssey's Web site, Lost Gold of the Republic, said Tapanes, an engineer, was in charge of Odyssey's first lucrative discovery, the wreck of the Civil War-era SS Republic, in 2003. Tapanes is credited with deciding to revisit the wreck site after a crew member dismissed it as "just a sailboat." He even was responsible for choosing Odyssey's 113-foot-long search vessel, having bought and then given it to the company in exchange for a chunk of stock. Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm called him "one of the best hires the company ever made."
Last year, as Odyssey searched for the ship code-named "Black Swan," Tapanes was chief surveyor and the person who first spotted the wreckage. Company officials did not respond to an e-mail late Thursday as to Tapanes' current status with Odyssey.
Federal prosecutors could follow with criminal charges. But Peter Henning, a professor at the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit and former SEC enforcement official, said it is unlikely that Tapanes will be charged; the profit was relatively small, Tapanes has no apparent ties to the securities industry, and he cooperated. "You just can't do every case," Henning said.
hmmm
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Just watched the news, turns out there was a canadan connection to the scandle. a canadan person was on the ship , he had $100,000 turn up in his bank account and the feds are invistigating. I am going to assume this was the guy who knew where the treasure was droped by the looters. in 2004 after it was stolen from canada.
hmmm
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hmmm said:Just watched the news, turns out there was a canadan connection to the scandle. a canadan person was on the ship , he had $100,000 turn up in his bank account and the feds are invistigating. I am going to assume this was the guy who knew where the treasure was droped by the looters. in 2004 after it was stolen from canada.
hmmm
It was the same person, he is a Canadian Citizen, and has a home in Florida as well.
wwwtimmcp
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go oddysey,
seems like someone is always trying to defraud salvors out of their hard won treasure. if it is in international waters, does spain have to pay oddysey for lost time and haul out costs for sitting so long ?
quite frankly if spain was so interested in its historical culture, why dont they equip vessels and get cracking ? I guess it is jut easier to steal it from somebody else. arriba tuyo espana.
seems like someone is always trying to defraud salvors out of their hard won treasure. if it is in international waters, does spain have to pay oddysey for lost time and haul out costs for sitting so long ?
quite frankly if spain was so interested in its historical culture, why dont they equip vessels and get cracking ? I guess it is jut easier to steal it from somebody else. arriba tuyo espana.
jeff k
Bronze Member
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Thread Owner
Treasure Hunters in Dispute With Spain
January 24th, 2008 @ 12:45pm
By MITCH STACY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The playground legal principle "Finders keepers, losers weepers" is being put to the test in an international dispute over what could be the richest sunken treasure ever found: 17 tons of silver coins brought up from a centuries-old shipwreck.
A Florida treasure-hunting company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, found the wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic and argues that the age-old law of the high seas entitles the finders to most or all of the booty, said to be worth around $500 million.
But the government of Spain suspects the ship was Spanish and says it has never expressly abandoned any of its vessels lost at sea. The kingdom has made it clear that if the treasure does have some connection to Spain, it wants every last coin returned.
The case is being closely watched, because there could be more disputes like it, now that sonar, remote-control submersible robots and deep-sea video are enabling treasure hunters like Odyssey to find ships that went to the bottom centuries ago and were written off as unrecoverable because no one could even imagine finding anything so far beneath the waves.
"The question is, just because you're the first one out there to get it, should you get to keep it _ especially if it belongs to someone else?" said James Delgado, director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University and a critic of commercial treasure hunters.
For now, the spoils _ some 500,000 coins, enough to fill 552 plastic buckets _ are in Odyssey's possession, tucked away in a warehouse somewhere in Tampa.
Odyssey created a worldwide sensation with the announcement of the find in May but has so far declined to identify the wreck, its location (except to say it was found in international waters) or even what kind of coins were recovered, for fear of plunderers. Instead, the shipwreck was given a code name: Black Swan.
Soon after the discovery was announced, Spain's Washington-based attorney, James Goold, went to federal court in Tampa and slapped claims on three Atlantic wreck sites to which Odyssey had been granted exclusive salvage rights under maritime law.
Spain also temporarily seized the company's ships last summer, and the Spanish media have portrayed the Americans as buccaneers plundering the nation's cultural heritage.
On June 6, El Pais, Spain's biggest newspaper, ran an editorial headlined "Pirates of the 21st Century."
"Almost as if it were back to the times of corsairs and freebooters, the new pirates of this century continue to besiege our galleons despite the fact they have been lying at the bottom of the seas for centuries immersed in an eternal sleep," it said. "How is Spain to defend itself against such a violation of its archaeological and historic patrimony?"
The ship is widely believed to be the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish galleon sunk by a British warship off Portugal in October 1804. That theory is supported by an export document in the court file indicating that Odyssey raised the coins from a site 180 nautical miles west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Earlier this month, a federal magistrate ruled that Odyssey must hand over details of the Black Swan wreck, but that Goold must keep the information confidential. Another hearing is scheduled for March.
Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said that even if Spain or some other party can prove a claim to the cargo, maritime law dictates that Odyssey be awarded a majority of the haul.
Goold said that won't happen unless Odyssey can prove that Spain expressly abandoned the shipwreck, which he says is not the case. Goold pointed to a previous case he argued in which treasure hunters who salvaged two Spanish ships off the coast of Virginia were forced by a federal appeals court in 2000 to relinquish rights to the 100 coins and other salvaged artifacts. The Spanish government eventually agreed to have the items displayed at a Virginia museum.
"The established principles regarding sunken ships in which the kingdom of Spain has an interest are that the treasure hunter has no right to salvage them, anything that is recovered has to be returned to Spanish custody and that there is no compensation," Goold said.
The Black Swan discovery was timely for Odyssey, whose first big strike was the discovery in 2003 of a Civil War-era steamer off the Georgia coast that yielded 51,000 gold coins and other artifacts valued at around $70 million. Odyssey reported making around $38 million from the haul so far.
But Odyssey, the only publicly traded company of its kind, has posted losses over the past three years as it used its expensive high-tech equipment to scour the high seas for the next mother lode.
The company signed a promotional agreement with Disney last year and has attracted millions in investment from some of the country's biggest financial institutions.
"We have said all along that the legal issues with shipwrecks are complicated and it may take awhile to work them out," Stemm said.
January 24th, 2008 @ 12:45pm
By MITCH STACY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The playground legal principle "Finders keepers, losers weepers" is being put to the test in an international dispute over what could be the richest sunken treasure ever found: 17 tons of silver coins brought up from a centuries-old shipwreck.
A Florida treasure-hunting company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, found the wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic and argues that the age-old law of the high seas entitles the finders to most or all of the booty, said to be worth around $500 million.
But the government of Spain suspects the ship was Spanish and says it has never expressly abandoned any of its vessels lost at sea. The kingdom has made it clear that if the treasure does have some connection to Spain, it wants every last coin returned.
The case is being closely watched, because there could be more disputes like it, now that sonar, remote-control submersible robots and deep-sea video are enabling treasure hunters like Odyssey to find ships that went to the bottom centuries ago and were written off as unrecoverable because no one could even imagine finding anything so far beneath the waves.
"The question is, just because you're the first one out there to get it, should you get to keep it _ especially if it belongs to someone else?" said James Delgado, director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University and a critic of commercial treasure hunters.
For now, the spoils _ some 500,000 coins, enough to fill 552 plastic buckets _ are in Odyssey's possession, tucked away in a warehouse somewhere in Tampa.
Odyssey created a worldwide sensation with the announcement of the find in May but has so far declined to identify the wreck, its location (except to say it was found in international waters) or even what kind of coins were recovered, for fear of plunderers. Instead, the shipwreck was given a code name: Black Swan.
Soon after the discovery was announced, Spain's Washington-based attorney, James Goold, went to federal court in Tampa and slapped claims on three Atlantic wreck sites to which Odyssey had been granted exclusive salvage rights under maritime law.
Spain also temporarily seized the company's ships last summer, and the Spanish media have portrayed the Americans as buccaneers plundering the nation's cultural heritage.
On June 6, El Pais, Spain's biggest newspaper, ran an editorial headlined "Pirates of the 21st Century."
"Almost as if it were back to the times of corsairs and freebooters, the new pirates of this century continue to besiege our galleons despite the fact they have been lying at the bottom of the seas for centuries immersed in an eternal sleep," it said. "How is Spain to defend itself against such a violation of its archaeological and historic patrimony?"
The ship is widely believed to be the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish galleon sunk by a British warship off Portugal in October 1804. That theory is supported by an export document in the court file indicating that Odyssey raised the coins from a site 180 nautical miles west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Earlier this month, a federal magistrate ruled that Odyssey must hand over details of the Black Swan wreck, but that Goold must keep the information confidential. Another hearing is scheduled for March.
Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said that even if Spain or some other party can prove a claim to the cargo, maritime law dictates that Odyssey be awarded a majority of the haul.
Goold said that won't happen unless Odyssey can prove that Spain expressly abandoned the shipwreck, which he says is not the case. Goold pointed to a previous case he argued in which treasure hunters who salvaged two Spanish ships off the coast of Virginia were forced by a federal appeals court in 2000 to relinquish rights to the 100 coins and other salvaged artifacts. The Spanish government eventually agreed to have the items displayed at a Virginia museum.
"The established principles regarding sunken ships in which the kingdom of Spain has an interest are that the treasure hunter has no right to salvage them, anything that is recovered has to be returned to Spanish custody and that there is no compensation," Goold said.
The Black Swan discovery was timely for Odyssey, whose first big strike was the discovery in 2003 of a Civil War-era steamer off the Georgia coast that yielded 51,000 gold coins and other artifacts valued at around $70 million. Odyssey reported making around $38 million from the haul so far.
But Odyssey, the only publicly traded company of its kind, has posted losses over the past three years as it used its expensive high-tech equipment to scour the high seas for the next mother lode.
The company signed a promotional agreement with Disney last year and has attracted millions in investment from some of the country's biggest financial institutions.
"We have said all along that the legal issues with shipwrecks are complicated and it may take awhile to work them out," Stemm said.
I find this whole situation with Spain so amusing.
Screw them. How well did they behave in Peru (Pizarro), Mexico (Cortez), North America (Coronado, DeSoto, de Leon)? Not only did they take and take -- they pillaged and burned before leaving.
Screw them. How well did they behave in Peru (Pizarro), Mexico (Cortez), North America (Coronado, DeSoto, de Leon)? Not only did they take and take -- they pillaged and burned before leaving.
jeff k
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- #59
Thread Owner
Odyssey Marine Exploration Enters Motion in North Carolina Shipwreck Case
Thursday February 21, 4:15 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX - News) and BDJ Discovery Group, LLC have filed a “Joint Motion for Substitution of Plaintiff” in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Admiralty case number 4:05-CV-122-D3.
This joint motion substitutes Odyssey Marine Exploration for BDJ Discovery Group LLC as plaintiff in the In Rem Admiralty case against the Unidentified Shipwreck Vessel, its apparel, tackle, appurtenances and cargo located in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 12 miles off the coast of North Carolina. In a separate agreement, BDJ Discovery Group has assigned all of its rights to the artifacts and any wreck from which they originate to Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Among other objects, a small number of gold and silver artifacts have been recovered from the site, code-named “Firefly”, but the identity of the shipwreck from which the artifacts originated has not yet been confirmed. In order to protect the site, no additional information is being released at this time about the artifacts recovered or operations at the site to date.
Odyssey has been conducting survey and inspection operations on the arrested site since August 2007 and is currently planning the next stages of survey and archaeological investigation of the site.
Thursday February 21, 4:15 pm ET
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX - News) and BDJ Discovery Group, LLC have filed a “Joint Motion for Substitution of Plaintiff” in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Admiralty case number 4:05-CV-122-D3.
This joint motion substitutes Odyssey Marine Exploration for BDJ Discovery Group LLC as plaintiff in the In Rem Admiralty case against the Unidentified Shipwreck Vessel, its apparel, tackle, appurtenances and cargo located in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 12 miles off the coast of North Carolina. In a separate agreement, BDJ Discovery Group has assigned all of its rights to the artifacts and any wreck from which they originate to Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Among other objects, a small number of gold and silver artifacts have been recovered from the site, code-named “Firefly”, but the identity of the shipwreck from which the artifacts originated has not yet been confirmed. In order to protect the site, no additional information is being released at this time about the artifacts recovered or operations at the site to date.
Odyssey has been conducting survey and inspection operations on the arrested site since August 2007 and is currently planning the next stages of survey and archaeological investigation of the site.
Salvor6
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I am really surprised at James Delgado's reply from the INA. If he really believes that cultural heritage belongs to the country of origin then he would return the 20,000 artifacts from the French vessel of La Salle that they excavated two years ago! Including the SKELETAL REMAINS OF CREW MEMBERS! The Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M is nothing but grave robbers!
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