Being proactive is not getting ones self into the situation in the first place, hence my comments.
Being caught, and then dumping the recovery?
Rob a bank and then give the money back? Guilty is still guilty.
Spain would have had legal recourse to charge Odyssey to recover their property Odyssey had dumped.
Face it, Odyssey did ask for permission and was denied.
They went on in secret, and did the recovery. Odyssey then denied the recovery saying they could not identify the wreck, yet the images they provided showed very distinctive cannon.
We typically identify wreck by cannon, yet Odyssey, the alleged premier underwater experts, denied the opinion of experts Spain hired to id the wreck. (Delgado and Mearns

?)
Odyssey did no one in this business any favors, and has created a stigma, and case law against us.
The UK has stopped the Commodity Wreck program, because of Odyssey.
Spain categorically denied salvage of it wrecks worldwide, because of odyssey (so did others)
There is now case law, and further adjudication details, favoring Sovereign entities in the US Courts, because of Odyssey.
Media splashes and all of the other news, such as the Mercedes. Victory, and the Cyprus recovery, which show treasure hunters in a bad light.
Governments around the World have reinforced laws on recovery, and restricted private recoveries, due to Odysseys blatant disregard for the law, UNESCO provisions, and well, simple concepts in the basics of archaeological recovery.
Odyssey brought to the forefront all of the bad things about recovery, and that was for $$$ only.
That is why I am adamant about chastising them, as it affects what we/I do, and places undue restrictions and costs on us.
Face it, odyssey was never in this business to do things right, and they never have. Since being publically trade, they made sure to blast their adventures in the media worldwide to increase the shareprice, to the detriment of this business.
We operated for decades without this exposure. Now we are fkd because of Odyssey.
My opinion, hell yea! Not only mine, oh hell yea.
Should anyone in this business even reference Odyssey in anything but what NOT to do, it is NOT a good thing.
Tell me, where is Odyssey now in shipwreck recovery?
They screwed me, us, and the business, and then moved on.