Odyssey Marine Exploration issued the following press release today:

Mariner... Here's the timeline.

March 23 - April 4, OE is in the Atlantic.

April 9, Arrest filed (100 miles west of Gibraltar).

April 12, Arrest Warrant is ordered on the vessel, US Marshall's office conveys the Warrant.

April 13, Odyssey Marine Exploration is ordered by the US Court's custodian of the arrested vessel/cargo. US Marshall is relieved of duty.

April 17 - May 12, OE is in the Atlantic, and a few days later the coins are flown to US.

Once someone files an arrest salvage can begin immediately, so there's no waiting period.
 

Jeff,

Thanks for the info. However, I am not certain that the coins came from the site 100 miles west of Gibraltar. I was in England in May, when the announcement came about Odyssey's discovery of a 17th century English merchant ship somewhere off the Scilly Isles. This is the ship that Odyssey filed for on the 15th May. The newspapers there connected this ship and the 500,000 coins. I was at that time in discussions with the Policy Unit of the British Government that deals with shipwrecks, and they seemed to think that this was the case. It was said that the coins were loaded on a British ship after the Spanish ship that was carrying them put into the Azores in very bad condition, and that they hired a British ship to complete thejourney because it was the only one available. I will go back and check. Are you so sure that the coins came from the site west of Gibraltar, and not from the ship off the Scillies (but in International waters)?

If I have formed the wrong impression about where the coins came from, I will take back my recent comments about Odyssey.

Mariner
 

Mariner... You're wrong on the Lands End site arrest date. They filed an arrest on that site last Sept, and the Court awarded full ownership May 30th. Spain's attorney recently asked the Court to vacate that decision, and Odyssey did not oppose the motion. Last week, Odyssey filed a motion for a 30 day extension to supply additional info on the wreck to Spain's attorney.
 

I have seen the drama and I think that those people that say "I think this" or "I think that" are purely speculators! No one but Odyssey themselves know what ship they have and weather they can keep everything they found. What is truth and honesty worth? Ask George Bush and Dick Cheney!
 

Jeff,

My understanding was/is that the 17th century British merchant vessel that Odyssey found in international waters west of the Scillies (and therefore south of Lands End) is the ship that contained the 500,000 coins,and I thought this was th eone for which they filed on May 15th. That is why Spain got involved, because they say that the cargo was theirs, even if they had transplanted it into a British ship when their own was incapable of taking the final leg of the journey.

I will see if I can find the British newspaper reports about it.

Odyssey are finding too many damned wrecks to keep up with!! I will have to go over it again, to make sure that I understand it all.

Mariner
 

Jeff, et al,

Here is the story that appeared in the Daily Mail while I was over in England, linking the wreck off Land End with the 500,000 coins.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=455825&in_page_id=1811
The Mail is a bit downmarket, but the same story and the connection with the 500,000 coins, also appeared in the broadsheets, such as the Times and the Telegraph.

This is why I have the two events connected, and will continue my research until I hit the truth.

LOL

Mariner
 

mariner said:
Odyssey are finding too many damned wrecks to keep up with!! I will have to go over it again, to make sure that I understand it all.

Mariner

Quote from Odyssey Marine's March 2006 Annual Report.

"Western Mediterranean Project

In April 2005, the Odyssey Explorer performed survey and archaeological work in the western Mediterranean. We located 23 shipwreck sites, produced 14 pre-disturbance photomosaics, and completed preliminary excavations on seven sites. The archaeological work resulted in the recovery of approximately 400 artifacts plus a substantial number of trading beads currently undergoing conservation and study by Odyssey's research department.

Atlas Search Project

On May 4, 2005, we announced that search operations had begun on our 2005 shipwreck search program, code-named the "Atlas" project, with our chartered side-scan survey vessel. The "Atlas" project is the result of an extensive target development program and consists of a minimum of five target shipwrecks. It is believed to be the most extensive shipwreck search operation ever launched. Utilizing our new, advanced side-scan system allowed us to map the seafloor twice as fast as previous searches we have conducted.

The 2005 "Atlas" search operations resulted in the mapping of over 4,600 square miles of the search area. Results include the discovery of 2,421 anomalies on the sea floor using our advanced high-resolution side-scan sonar system. After post-processing data, over 1,100 of those anomalies were selected for possible further examination. Of those, 577 sites have been inspected and at least 180 are believed to be manmade or shipwreck sites.

Other Projects

While working towards a resolution of issues relating to the Sussex project, the Odyssey Explorer has been deployed to other shipwreck sites in the Mediterranean as part of our ongoing operational program to explore numerous other valuable shipwrecks throughout the world. Preliminary work has been conducted, including completion of photomosaics and surveys on two shipwreck sites. Our research indicates that one of the shipwrecks (Code-named Bristol) contains a cargo of gold specie. We are currently analyzing the survey data from this preliminary work and preparing a recovery plan. It is anticipated that recovery on the Bristol project will be scheduled later in 2006 after completion of other scheduled operations, including the Sussex and Atlas projects."


Mariner, I count 31 shipwrecks, with a possible additional 180. This does not include any additional shipwrecks like the Black Swan that they may of found in the last year. For all we really know, the Black Swan could be anyone of these 211 possible shipwrecks that Odyssey has already targeted.
 

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