Odyssey Marine Ordered to Turn Over Gold to Spain

The publicly traded treasure hunting company Odyssey Marine has been ordered by a Spanish judge to hand over treasure it salvaged from the Atlantic floor to Spain.  I am certain Odyssey will win on an appeal.

From the BBC here:

A deep sea treasure-hunting company has been ordered by a US judge to hand over half a million gold and silver coins to the government of Spain.

The company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, raised the haul from a shipwreck in the Atlantic, suspected to be that of a Spanish naval vessel. The Spanish government argued that the treasure formed part of the country’s national heritage. But Odyssey intends to appeal, saying it has a claim to the treasure.

The haul of coins – thought to be worth some $500m (£308m) – came to light in 2007, when Odyssey announced the recovery of artefacts from a wreck in the Atlantic. The haul was brought ashore in Gibraltar and quickly flown to Miami – enraging the Spanish government, our correspondent says, which says the wreck is that of the Mercedes, a naval frigate destroyed by the British in 1804.

Just over a year ago, the Spanish government filed a suit with a federal court in Florida – where Odyssey is based – demanding the haul be handed over.

Late on Wednesday, a judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, and that the property should be returned to Spain under a principle known as “sovereign immunity”.

You would think that salvage laws are settled internationally.  But now that technology exists to recover much of this treasure, those laws are under review.