Flap over sunken treasure rises to new levels

[jeff of pa]

Spanish court orders capture, search of vessels belonging to Fla. firm

MADRID, Spain - A Spanish court has ordered police to capture and search two vessels belonging to a Florida firm that recently announced it had found a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean laden with an estimated $500 million worth of Colonial-era treasure, news reports said Tuesday.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19058333/

 

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[Lafitte]

<<"International laws are behind us and if anything outside the law occurred it will have an answer, and what is ours will return to Spain," the national news agency Efe quoted Calvo as saying.>>

I don't know much about treasure recovery. But, wouldn't the Spanish government have to have proof of what they are alleging? I mean, you can't just seize ships from another country in your waters unless you do. Search, sure.
But taking them to Spain to search them? That's messed up.

 

[ivan salis]

easy spain grabs OME ships and black mails them into giving them some of their find---they tie up OME ships unable to work until they get what they want---ah dealing with modern day pirates ---we're holding your ship and crews as hostages till you give us the money---ah just like the good old days--- when pirates held govt ships and crews for money--- just in reverse---Ivan

 

[djui5]

Loose lips seize ships

 

[lucky1777]

easy spain grabs OME ships and black mails them into giving them some of their find---they tie up OME ships unable to work until they get what they want---ah dealing with modern day pirates ---we're holding your ship and crews as hostages till you give us the money---ah just like the good old days--- when pirates held govt ships and crews for money--- just in reverse---Ivan

Wouldn't it just be knee-slapping hilarious if come to find out those Ships were trespassing and made that recovery on someone else's turf?

Got any proof they weren't?

Got any they were?

 

[malady]

If the greedy spaniards win this, Odyssey should charge them 499,000,000.00 for doing the work and recovering it. It would have been still laying at the bottom of the ocean. I wonder if Spanish spies were watching through the whole process, never saying a word, letting them spend the money and effort for this recovery and then when they hit the mother load, step in and say hey, your in our territory,your not allowed there, you dont get to keep it, its mine, instead of saying, hey your in our waters search over there a few hundred feet where its international waters. oh no that would never happen, they wanted someone to do the work for them and hoped they would be within an inch of spainish waters so they can take the treasure.
just my opinion,
malady

 

[wreckdiver1715]

If the greedy spaniards win this, Odyssey should charge them 499,000,000.00 for doing the work and recovering it. It would have been still laying at the bottom of the ocean. I wonder if Spanish spies were watching through the whole process, never saying a word, letting them spend the money and effort for this recovery and then when they hit the mother load, step in and say hey, your in our territory,your not allowed there, you dont get to keep it, its mine, instead of saying, hey your in our waters search over there a few hundred feet where its international waters. oh no that would never happen, they wanted someone to do the work for them and hoped they would be within an inch of spainish waters so they can take the treasure.
just my opinion,
malady

If that were the case, one would think that Spain would have been smart enough to grab the ships before OME was able to make it to the safety of Gibraltar, and send all the booty back to Tampa.

Tom

 

[ivan salis]

yes but now due to the fact all the water around them is spanish if they attempt to leave spain will "hijack" them by boarding them and forcing them to go to spain---impounding the boats and crews till their "happy" ie paid off and the ships and crews can't work tied to a dock so their in effect be held hostage---Ivan

 

[malady]

I guess Spain thinks that OME is being deceitful and sneaky just because they are that way themselves for hundreds of years. They dont know any other way it seems. I just feel bad they have to go through this (OME) because of all the hard work, heart and money they put into the recovery and I believe they went through all the right and legal channels. Like I said, it would still be lying at the bottom of the ocean until the end of time and the world would never had a glance of that timeless history that it holds, so why does it matter they found it, they deserve it after all that.
Even IF, just IF, the treasure was found in SPANISH waters (and I was the Queen of Spain) I would tell them search all you want, do you need some help, if we help, we would like a small percentage since you have been doing all the research and have all the tools, i'll give you some qualified manpower and possibly like to have some trinkets for our museums in Spain. That would be fair. Plus the world would have alot of respect for Spain for sharing which is part of world wide history, not just Spains.
Just my thoughts, I know what your going to say, Im not living in the real world. I dont think I ever have. ha.
malady

 

[jeff of pa]

Just my thoughts, I know what your going to say, Im not living in the real world. I dont think I ever have. ha.
malady

Your not Alone.

 

[ropesfish]

Geeeeeeez...This is proof that you can learn something every day...There is no way to clear the Straits of Gibraltar without traversing Spanish Territorial Watershttp://www.gibnet.com/fish/waters.htm.
That certainly gives more power to Spain than I'd have guessed concerning shipping in and out of the Mediterranean. The only other way out of the Med is through the Suez Canal. Boy oh boy....is THAT ever the long way around!
An interesting bit about this is here:http://www.opiniojuris.org/posts/chain_1180650338.shtml

 

[ivan salis]

the island is english very true but the waters surrounding are spanish---a quirk left over from the treaty that gave england the island in the straights---with it england in the old days could choke off shipping in the med--(german subs played hell trying to get in or out of the med in WW2 because of this (although spain offically did not take sides in WW2 there were a "nazi" leaner in charge---franco in spain) but due to the "rock" the nazis ships couldn't get out into the atlantic---Ivan

 

[ropesfish]

but due to the "rock" the nazis ships couldn't get out into the atlantic---Ivan

One of those little-known things that must have made a HUGE difference in the way WW2 played out.

 

[ivan salis]

needless to say it played a huge part in the battle of the atlantic---it kept the italain navy bottled up until they were bombed to death thus keeping them from being a factor in the atlantic and kept the german subs from moving to or from the med-"the rock" was a vital place---Ivan