jeric2
Full Member
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain has again seized an American treasure-hunting ship over a dispute with its owners over who has rights to millions of dollars worth of booty recovered from the sea, officials said.
art.explorer.afp.gi.jpg
Police watch as the "Odyssey Explorer" is led into the Spanish port of Algeciras.
Spain seized the "Odyssey Explorer" -- owned by Odyssey Marine Exploration based Tampa, Florida -- as it sailed out of port in the British colony of Gibraltar on Tuesday.
Armed Spanish government vessels were waiting for the Explorer when it reached 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) off Gibraltar's shore and entered what Spain considers its territorial waters. The vessels forced the Explorer to dock at Spain's nearby port of Algeciras, a Civil Guard spokesman told CNN.
Once in Algeciras, Explorer's captain refused to allow Spanish officials to board the ship for an inspection, and he was arrested for disobedience and spent Tuesday night in a Spanish jail, the spokesman said.
Officials began the inspection soon after. It is the second time in four months that Spain has halted an Odyssey vessel as it sailed off of Gibraltar.
Spain "intercepted and seized" the Explorer on Tuesday under a court order on "suspicion that Odyssey, through its ships, is recovering Spanish maritime heritage, in Spanish waters, without authorization," the spokesman said.
Odyssey's owner, Greg Stemm, could not immediately be reached for comment, but he has previously told CNN that Odyssey has been acting in strict compliance with international maritime laws.
Before Tuesday, Spain had filed suit in Tampa, Fla. against the Odyssey, laying claim to at least some of the estimated $500 million in gold and silver pieces that Odyssey recovered from the sea near Spain in May. Odyssey then flew the coins from Gibraltar to Florida for safekeeping.
Spain considers that loot could be Spanish coins, at the least, and also possibly from a Spanish ship. Odyssey, in announcing that discovery five months ago -- which is thought to be one of the biggest undersea treasures ever recovered -- did not publicly disclose the location, instead nicknaming the site "Black Swan."
Stemm has said the secrecy was in order to avoid the site being plundered by others.
Since the recovery of the estimated $500 million, Spain and Odyssey have been sharply at odds. In July, Odyssey sent one of its lesser-important exploration ships, "Alert," out of port in Gibraltar and Spain promptly seized and escorted to Algeciras port, where it was searched and held for several days.
On Tuesday, it was Explorer's turn. While confronting a Spanish navy warship and a Civil Guard patrol vessel, the Explorer crew argued that it was in international, not Spanish, waters off of Gibraltar.
But Spain, emphasizing its ships were armed, turned the ship back to port, according to reporters from Spain's El Pais newspaper and The Guardian, of London, who reported that they were aboard Odyssey when it was seized on Tuesday.
El Pais reported that police also seized video tapes, tape recorders and computer memory storage devices from various reporters aboard the Explorer, saying that step also was on orders from the judge. The Civil Guard spokesman said he could not confirm the seizure of journalistic materials.
art.explorer.afp.gi.jpg
Police watch as the "Odyssey Explorer" is led into the Spanish port of Algeciras.
Spain seized the "Odyssey Explorer" -- owned by Odyssey Marine Exploration based Tampa, Florida -- as it sailed out of port in the British colony of Gibraltar on Tuesday.
Armed Spanish government vessels were waiting for the Explorer when it reached 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) off Gibraltar's shore and entered what Spain considers its territorial waters. The vessels forced the Explorer to dock at Spain's nearby port of Algeciras, a Civil Guard spokesman told CNN.
Once in Algeciras, Explorer's captain refused to allow Spanish officials to board the ship for an inspection, and he was arrested for disobedience and spent Tuesday night in a Spanish jail, the spokesman said.
Officials began the inspection soon after. It is the second time in four months that Spain has halted an Odyssey vessel as it sailed off of Gibraltar.
Spain "intercepted and seized" the Explorer on Tuesday under a court order on "suspicion that Odyssey, through its ships, is recovering Spanish maritime heritage, in Spanish waters, without authorization," the spokesman said.
Odyssey's owner, Greg Stemm, could not immediately be reached for comment, but he has previously told CNN that Odyssey has been acting in strict compliance with international maritime laws.
Before Tuesday, Spain had filed suit in Tampa, Fla. against the Odyssey, laying claim to at least some of the estimated $500 million in gold and silver pieces that Odyssey recovered from the sea near Spain in May. Odyssey then flew the coins from Gibraltar to Florida for safekeeping.
Spain considers that loot could be Spanish coins, at the least, and also possibly from a Spanish ship. Odyssey, in announcing that discovery five months ago -- which is thought to be one of the biggest undersea treasures ever recovered -- did not publicly disclose the location, instead nicknaming the site "Black Swan."
Stemm has said the secrecy was in order to avoid the site being plundered by others.
Since the recovery of the estimated $500 million, Spain and Odyssey have been sharply at odds. In July, Odyssey sent one of its lesser-important exploration ships, "Alert," out of port in Gibraltar and Spain promptly seized and escorted to Algeciras port, where it was searched and held for several days.
On Tuesday, it was Explorer's turn. While confronting a Spanish navy warship and a Civil Guard patrol vessel, the Explorer crew argued that it was in international, not Spanish, waters off of Gibraltar.
But Spain, emphasizing its ships were armed, turned the ship back to port, according to reporters from Spain's El Pais newspaper and The Guardian, of London, who reported that they were aboard Odyssey when it was seized on Tuesday.
El Pais reported that police also seized video tapes, tape recorders and computer memory storage devices from various reporters aboard the Explorer, saying that step also was on orders from the judge. The Civil Guard spokesman said he could not confirm the seizure of journalistic materials.
----- IF you want to "talk" to me legally I want a LAWYER --- then IF it happened I wasn't there when it occured --- IF you can prove I was there when it happened ,well I didn't see it happen and know nothing about it --IF you can prove it happened 5 feet in front of me while I was there, I must have been asleep at the time because I don't remember it occuring --- if all else fails then I plead the 5th --( the legal system IS ALL ABOUT what can you PROVE?) --- have a nice day --- Ivan
