Wizzard
Jr. Member
By Donna Kardos
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OMEX) plunged as much as 64% Thursday to a six-year low after the shipwreck explorer was ordered Wednesday to return an estimated half a billion dollars in sunken cargo it had found two years ago in the Atlantic Ocean to Spain.
Investors had expected Odyssey to succeed in the case, in part because no ship was found, only valuable debris, and admiralty laws concerning sovereign immunity only apply to sunken ships. However, Odyssey said Thursday that a federal court indicated there was sufficient evidence to confirm the site is that of the Neustra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish vessel that exploded in 1804, and that the vessel and its cargo are subject to sovereign immunity.
Shares were down 58% recently to $1.61, and earlier were as low as $1.39, the stock's lowest point since July 2003.
The discovery was spotted in March 2007 at a site in the Atlantic that Odyssey code-named "Black Swan." It contained tons of silver and gold coins and other artifacts. Odyssey tried to keep the treasure trove a secret for a time, and then announced the discovery in May 2007. Odyssey's shares shortly thereafter hit their all-time high.
When it announced the discovery, Odyssey had said the property was recovered "in conformity with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country." However, Spain filed a claim stating it believed the site was the Neustra Senora de las Mercedes.
Odyssey announced plans Thursday to file a written objection to the U.S. Federal Court Magistrate's recommendation, which was for the property recovered to be returned to Spain. The recommendation also concluded that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
"This is clearly a case where there are many relevant issues of fact that have been disputed, including the issue of whether the Mercedes was on a commercial mission and whether the property recovered belonged to Spain," Odyssey General Counsel Melinda MacConnel said in a statement.
-By Donna Kardos, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5963; [email protected]
Another articlce___________________________________________________________________
Spain cheers U.S. ruling to return wreck treasure
Thu Jun 4, 2009 9:50am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
MADRID (Reuters) - The government has welcomed a Florida court decision ordering U.S. treasure hunters to return to Spain over 500,000 silver and gold coins raised from the seabed.
Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration found the 17-tonne haul, which some experts valued at $500 million, two years ago in a location it never disclosed.
Spain said the coins came from the "Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes," a warship carrying treasure back from Peru when it was sunk by British gunboats off the Spanish coast in 1804.
Spain quickly claimed the loot as its own but not before the Odyssey flew the treasure from the British colony of Gibraltar to Florida.
"I am delighted that the judge has ruled that the ship belongs to Spain and the treasure belongs to Spain. It is a very important decision," Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde told Spanish television, adding that it set an important precedent.
Odyssey said it planned to file a written objection to the ruling which says the firm must return the loot within 10 days.
"We'll be back to argue the merits of the case," said Odyssey CEO Greg Stemm. "Odyssey has done everything by the book. For the court to find that enough evidence exists to conclusively identify the site as the Mercedes ... is just wrong."
According to Odyssey, the judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to confirm that the site was that of the Mercedes and that the vessel and its cargo were subject to sovereign immunity.
A copy of the ruling was not immediately available.
The Mercedes sank in the first few minutes of the Battle of Cape St Mary's as a huge explosion ripped it apart, killing more than 200 sailors aboard.
The attack led Spain to declare war on Britain and enter the Napoleonic Wars on the side of France.
(Reporting by Ben Harding; Editing by David Cowell)
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OMEX) plunged as much as 64% Thursday to a six-year low after the shipwreck explorer was ordered Wednesday to return an estimated half a billion dollars in sunken cargo it had found two years ago in the Atlantic Ocean to Spain.
Investors had expected Odyssey to succeed in the case, in part because no ship was found, only valuable debris, and admiralty laws concerning sovereign immunity only apply to sunken ships. However, Odyssey said Thursday that a federal court indicated there was sufficient evidence to confirm the site is that of the Neustra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish vessel that exploded in 1804, and that the vessel and its cargo are subject to sovereign immunity.
Shares were down 58% recently to $1.61, and earlier were as low as $1.39, the stock's lowest point since July 2003.
The discovery was spotted in March 2007 at a site in the Atlantic that Odyssey code-named "Black Swan." It contained tons of silver and gold coins and other artifacts. Odyssey tried to keep the treasure trove a secret for a time, and then announced the discovery in May 2007. Odyssey's shares shortly thereafter hit their all-time high.
When it announced the discovery, Odyssey had said the property was recovered "in conformity with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country." However, Spain filed a claim stating it believed the site was the Neustra Senora de las Mercedes.
Odyssey announced plans Thursday to file a written objection to the U.S. Federal Court Magistrate's recommendation, which was for the property recovered to be returned to Spain. The recommendation also concluded that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
"This is clearly a case where there are many relevant issues of fact that have been disputed, including the issue of whether the Mercedes was on a commercial mission and whether the property recovered belonged to Spain," Odyssey General Counsel Melinda MacConnel said in a statement.
-By Donna Kardos, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5963; [email protected]
Another articlce___________________________________________________________________
Spain cheers U.S. ruling to return wreck treasure
Thu Jun 4, 2009 9:50am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
MADRID (Reuters) - The government has welcomed a Florida court decision ordering U.S. treasure hunters to return to Spain over 500,000 silver and gold coins raised from the seabed.
Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration found the 17-tonne haul, which some experts valued at $500 million, two years ago in a location it never disclosed.
Spain said the coins came from the "Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes," a warship carrying treasure back from Peru when it was sunk by British gunboats off the Spanish coast in 1804.
Spain quickly claimed the loot as its own but not before the Odyssey flew the treasure from the British colony of Gibraltar to Florida.
"I am delighted that the judge has ruled that the ship belongs to Spain and the treasure belongs to Spain. It is a very important decision," Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde told Spanish television, adding that it set an important precedent.
Odyssey said it planned to file a written objection to the ruling which says the firm must return the loot within 10 days.
"We'll be back to argue the merits of the case," said Odyssey CEO Greg Stemm. "Odyssey has done everything by the book. For the court to find that enough evidence exists to conclusively identify the site as the Mercedes ... is just wrong."
According to Odyssey, the judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to confirm that the site was that of the Mercedes and that the vessel and its cargo were subject to sovereign immunity.
A copy of the ruling was not immediately available.
The Mercedes sank in the first few minutes of the Battle of Cape St Mary's as a huge explosion ripped it apart, killing more than 200 sailors aboard.
The attack led Spain to declare war on Britain and enter the Napoleonic Wars on the side of France.
(Reporting by Ben Harding; Editing by David Cowell)
