Merchant Royal

http://shipwreck.net/AbridgedSussexProjectPlan.pdf

In this pdf file Odyssey Marine outlines their painstaking recovery plan for the British Royal Navy warship, the HMS Sussex. It gives insight into the procedures that OMR undertakes with regards to documenting the shipwrecks that it finds. Although we are most concerned with the Merchant Royal, the Sussex is equally important to OMR and their shareholders. The HMS Sussex is also a shipwreck that is causing tensions between OMR, Spain, and the UK.

The UK and OMR has entered into a partnership to document and recover any treasure that was onboard the Sussex when she sank. This has outraged associations such as the CBA (Council for British Archaeology) and the NAS (Nautical Archaeology Society) which has condemned the partnership from the beginning.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0518072ship1.html

In this September 6, 2006, eleven page document published by thesmokinggun.com, OMR petitions the court to appoint OMR salvor-in-possession of a shipwreck located approximately 40 miles off the western coast of England. A marine arrest is a temporary injunction granting custodial authority while ownership and other rights are sorted out.

The court documents appear to indicate that the shipwreck was located near the English Channel and outside the territorial waters of any nation. The firm added that research led it to conclude that "more vauabe cargo may be located aboard the ship". OMR believed that the shipwreck was a merchant vessel from the 17th century. The location and description of this shipwreck leads many to conclude that this is the Merchant Royal.

http://who.godaddy.com/WhoIs.aspx?domain=merchantroyal.com&prog_id=godaddy

A search of WhoIs database has revealed that on Oct 10, 2006 Odyssey Marine had registered the domain name of Merchantroyal.com. On Sept. 6, 2006, OMR had filed a petition in a Florida court asking the court to name them the salvor-in-possession of a 17th century shipwreck 40 miles off the coast of England.

Naturally: 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life

http://shipwreck.net/pr130.html

Twenty-third of March 2007. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has the pleasure of announcing that Spain and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement in order to proceed to carry out an underwater archaeological survey in waters of the Alboran Sea for the identification of the wreck corresponding to HMS Sussex, a sovereign vessel of the English flag that shipwrecked in said sea in 1694.

This project, which will be carried out by the company Odyssey Marine Exploration, will follow rigorous archaeological protocols. The Junta de Andalucia will participate in it. Prior to the commencement of operations, a coordination meeting is scheduled for today between specialists nominated by the British Ministry of Defense and the Junta de Andalucia. Periodic coordination meetings are also scheduled to be held whilst the operations are being carried out. The Junta de Andalucia will name archaeologists to participate in said project. This participation by the Junta is intended to ensure that the project complies with all the applicable laws relating to the due protection of underwater cultural heritage.

The company Odyssey Marine Exploration, registered in the United States and having an exclusive contract with the Government of the United Kingdom for the archaeological project of the HMS Sussex, will carry out operations aimed at locating said shipwreck by virtue of the agreement reached.

In the event that it is proven that the ship is HMS Sussex, Spain will recognize that the wreck, its appurtenances and contents are the property of the United Kingdom by virtue of the rules of applicable International Law.

http://shipwreck.net/pr131.html

Tampa, FL - April 24, 2007 - Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (AMEX: OMR), a leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, announced that its subsidiary, Odyssey Marine Entertainment, Inc., will open SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure, an interactive shipwreck and treasure exhibit at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida. The exhibit is scheduled to run from June 22, 2007 through January 31, 2008.

To see what the exhibit is all about click here:

http://shipwreckandtreasure.com

http://shipwreck.net/pr132.html

For the first quarter of 2007, Odyssey reported revenue of $2.2 million, compared to $.9 million in the first quarter 2006. The Company reported a net loss of $3.8 million, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million in 2006. The net loss per share for the first quarter was $.09, compared to an identical $.09 per share in the first quarter 2005.

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:Ke3vVUCsnX0J:groups.google.com/group/alt.gibraltar/browse_thread/thread/e696e14d2398e16e/3d799cc9136618ba+site:groups.google.com+%22odyssey+marine%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

Odyssey Marine Exploration is looking to make an archaeology center in Gibraltar. This would be a base for research, restoration and a museum of underwater archaeology.

OMR had opened an ill-fated museum in New Orleans just before Katrina hit that city.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=BCOM&Date=20070516&ID=6909947

May 16, 2007 - Odyssey Marine announced that it has received a default judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on the admiralty arrest complaint filed by the company with the court in September 2006.

Many believe that this could be the richest shipwreck ever, the Merchant Royal.

http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_headlines.php?id=1316

In a covert operation Odyssey Marine has confirmed that the company has shipped the recently found 17 tons of treasure out of the port of Gibraltar aboard a 757 chartered airline. The treasure is considered to be that of the Merchant Royal, a 17th century merchant ship.

It is not known if Odyssey had to pay duties to the authorities in Gibraltar prior to the 17 tons of silver being taken aboard.

Gibraltar is a freeport and most likely the only place where Odyssey could have transported the recovered treasure back to the USA without its' being impounded.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/19/nwreck19.xml

For anyone interested in treasure hunting, this may be the richest treasure find in history. Althought code named the "Black Swan" many think that this is the discovery of the Merchant Royal. Initial reports indicates that Odyessy Marine Exploration (AMEX OMR) has recovered 500,000 silver coins (17 tons worth!!!) from a 17th Century Merchant Ship which sank in the Atlantic off of Lands End.

Copyright 2003, Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., Used By Permission.

Copyright 2003, Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., Used By Permission.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6672725.stm

It isn't easy to find sunken treasure. Odyssey Marine is a publicly traded company (AMEX OMR) that has spent several years perfecting the art. Besides the latest treasure find that could be the Merchant Royal, in 2003 they have located the SS Republic http://shipwreck.net/ssrepublic.shtml worth $75Mil in treasure; and they have an unprecedented partnership with the United Kingdom in their search and recovery of the HMS Sussex. http://shipwreck.net/sussex.html

Lost Gold of the Republic: The Remarkable Quest for the Greatest Shipwreck Treasure of the Civil War Era

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/el-dorado-of-the-ocean-yields-rich-bounty/2007/05/19/1179497342176.html

Alison Kentuck, referring to the Merchant Royal: "It certainly sounds likely that that is what they have recovered," she said. "It is a well-known wreck, which is known to have sunk in that area."

The Merchant Royal is the holy grail of shipwrecks. "The ship — owned by a group of London merchants — reportedly had "£300,000 in silver, £100,000 in gold and as much again in jewels" lying in its hold."

As a side note, if Odyssey Marine had taken the treasure to the UK, Britain's receiver of wrecks would have impounded the treasure haul until an investigation into the legal owner was completed. To counteract this, Odyssey Marine shipped the booty to the port of Gibraltar (a freeport) where it was secretly and legally loaded on a chartered 757 and flown back to the USA. The treasure is now at an undisclosed location, probably near Odyssey's headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Royal

The 700-ton Merchant Royal was built in Deptford, London, in 1627.

Owned by English merchants, she set sail from the Spanish colonies of San Domingo, in the West Indies, captained by John Limbrey.

In January 1637, armed with 32 bronze canons, she arrived successfully in Cadiz, southern Spain, where she rested until 1640.

But during that time she began to leak badly and underwent extensive repairs.
The following summer, a ship employed to transport Spain's colonial loot - silver coins, ingots and gold - caught fire.

The bullion had been put aside to pay for Spain's 30,000 strong army, which were stationed at the time in Flanders.

Captain Limbrey volunteered to take the gold to Antwerp, on his way back to London. The Merchant Royal set sail in late August 1641, trailed by her sister ship, the Dover Merchant. But during the journey she began to leak and rescuers were unable reach her in time.

Eighteen men drowned and 40 crew, including Capt Limbrey, had to be rescued by the Dover Merchant.

The loss of the treasure made headlines. Back in 1641, the ship’s hold was equivalent to one-third of the national exchequer. Samuel Pepys refers to the event in his diary and proceedings in the House of Commons were interrupted for the news to be announced.

Several salvage teams have sought to recover her treasure over the years but all have failed until now.

There was confusion as to where she had actually gone down, with conflicting eyewitness reports. Original papers relating to her final resting place state that witnesses on another ship calculated that it sank ten leagues (around 35 miles) from Land's End. But experts insist they would have been too far out to actually see land.

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/msFullArt.asp?an=12221

It's not surprising that the latest treasure find by Odyssey Marine is shrouded in secrecy as it's not clear if they have enough artifacts to correctly identify the shipwreck (which many believe is the Merchant Royal).

When asked:

"There have been reports that the "Black Swan" is a number of different shipwrecks, including HMS Sussex and the Merchant Royal. Are any of these reports correct?"

Odyssey Marine issued the following response:

"We can confirm that the "Black Swan" is not HMS Sussex, and that the "Black Swan" was not found in waters anywhere near the shipwreck believed to be HMS Sussex. Beyond that, we cannot confirm the identity of the shipwreck because we are not certain ourselves. The site is in an area in which a number of Colonial-era Shipwrecks were believed to be lost. The "Black Swan" bears characteristics of one shipwreck in particular, but some of the evidence gathered to date is inconsistent with our research, so we want to be sure of the identity before we announce it."

http://shipwreck.net/pr135.html

Since the recovery of the "Black Swan" shipwreck by Odyssey Marine, intense international media coverage has led to many questions that OMR would like to address:

The link above is from Odyssey Marine's website and answers eight of these questions. In it they confirm that the "Black Swan" is not the HMS Sussex. They did not confirm that the wreck is the Merchant Royal, although OMR did say that the "Black Swan" bears characteristics of one shipwreck in particular and that they "want to be sure of the identity before we announce it."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/21/america/NA-GEN-US-Treasure-Ship.php

Just in time for the release of the new Disney movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Disney spokeswoman Cherise McVicar said "It's truly serendipitous that this happened just prior to this weekend's release of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,' as we began our film discussions with Odyssey about a year ago, long before they knew about the ship,"

In the recovery of the SS Republic in 2003 Odyssey Marine released a video produced by the National Geographic Ultimate Explorer. In a departure from working with the National Geographic, Odyssey Marine has signed on with Disney for future media productions.

If Odyssey Marine has found the Merchant Royal, a rich 17th Century shipwreck, the future media documentaries of the find (remember the Titanic?) will be hugh.

http://www.thestreet.com/funds/followmoney/10358370.html?puc=googlefi

On May 18, 2007 Odyssey Marine announced a major treasure find that could be worth upwards of $500Mil. Some say that the discovery is the Merchant Royal, a rich 17th Century English Merchant ship which sank in 1671. In what seems like a made-for-TV production this find has had its share of intrigue such as a covert midnight flight out of Gibraltar with the treasure, and Spain's suspicion that OMR has somehow looted the HMS Sussex. The latest surprise is that John Edwards, the former vice presidential candidate, will get an undisclosed piece of the action from the sunken 17th-century galleon.

One of the biggest shareholders in Odyssey Marine, the company that discovered the treasure, is New York-based Fortress Investments (FIG). FIG is a private equity and hedge fund manager and a senior adviser and major investor of FIG is none other than John Edwards.

Edwards' personal financial disclosures show he's an investor in the exclusive Drawbridge Global Macro Fund, which owns the 9.9% stake in OMR.

Fortress' stake is even bigger than at first appears. In a complex holding, it owns 3.1 million shares, plus millions more in preferred stock and warrants. Total economic interest is the equivalent of 6.98 million shares. After the announcement by Odyssey, OMR's shares were up 80% to a record high of $9.45 per share on May 21st, 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJe5jNmipU

A 1:33 minute video showing Odyssey Marine and some of the recovered treasure being taken off a chartered 757 cargo plane.

___________________________________________________________________________

45 sec. Video Clip from Spanish TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkHbhtoSPK8

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23398186-details/Secret+gold+chest+in+treasure+ship/article.do

The 500,000 silver coins that Odyssey Marine has recovered may only be a part of the booty recovered from a 17th Century Merchant ship some believe is the Merchant Royal. According to a 17th century pamphlet from the British Museum there are survivors' accounts of the disaster and the attempts of seamen to save a treasure chest containing "300,000 pound in ready bullion and 100,000 pound in gold".

There are also reports that the vast personal wealth of the Captain, John Limbrey, went down with the ship as well. Some say that his wealth included 100,000 gemstones.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/115815.html

Odyssey Marine has run into anticipated problems with regards to it's recent discovery of a 17th Century merchant ship. Spain, in whose waters Odyssey Marine has said lies the shipwreck of the HMS Sussex, is suspicious that Odyssey Marine recent horde of treasure was the result of the looting of the Sussex site. "We can confirm that the Black Swan is not HMS Sussex and that the Black Swan was not found in waters anywhere near the shipwreck believed to be HMS Sussex," Odyssey said in a statement.

There are experts who believe the Black Swan shipwreck is the remains of the Merchant Royal.

Richard Larn, a veteran British diver and shipwreck expert, says he knows the ship's identity and it's certainly not the Sussex.

"It's the Merchant Royal," Larn said in an interview from the Isles of Scilly, off the southwest coast of England. Larn said that Odyssey Marine has discovered the Merchant Royal at a site approximately 22 miles southeast of the Scilly Isles. The ship went down in 1641 with a hold full of Spanish coins destined to pay its soldiers at war in Flanders.

Odyssey Marine has commented several times that the wreck was not the Sussex. It would be foolish for a public company to make such a statement and not be true. The Sussex site was recorded as required by the UK and any disturbance to the site would be easily discovered.

The Sussex project was given the go ahead by the UK and Odyssey was waiting for the Spanish authorities to assign archaeologists to monitor the operation.

http://scienceblogs.com/deepseanews/2007/05/who_owns_the_black_swan.php

A Spanish newspaper boldly stated the "Black Swan" was a shipwreck off of the Gibratar coast and published a picture from a port employee showing a coin with the bust of King Charles III, a ruler of Spain in the 18th century, suggesting the ship was Spanish.

First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Friday in the papers "What we're seeing here is a presumed incidence of plundering".

Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine, denies the accusations. He said that the Black Swan shipwreck is somewhere in the Atlantic and that the coin depicting King Charles III is not from the wreck.

Everyone is speculating about the identity of the ship. Some are saying that the Black Swan is the HMS Sussex or the Merchant Royal. OMR maintains that they can confirm the Black Swan is not the HMS Sussex. The Merchant Royal was an English Merchant ship from the 17th Century.

Published Picture

http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_headlines.php?id=1349

The picture shown above was purportedly taken by a Gibraltar port worker from the treasure found by Odyssey Marine Exploration as it was being loaded onboard a 757 cargo plane. It depicts a Spanish coin in which the Spanish newspapers claim was taken by the worker when one of the buckets spilled it's contents. It has been dismissed as a fake.

The coin was lifted from the Franklin Mint's website and purposely made unclear to look like it was snapped by a camera phone and to also obscure the date. The Franklin Mint's website picture is here:

Spain is trying hard to discredit Odyssey Marine and the recent treasure find that just might turn out to be the Merchant Royal.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/29/Worldandnation/Treasure_may_become_c.shtml

The Tampa Florida company Odyssey Marine Exploration (Amex OMR) is facing a court battle over who owns the treasure that many believe is the Merchant Royal.

James Goold, a maritime lawyer with Covington & Burling in Wash. D.C., said that Odyssey's refusal to identify the ship and it's cargo or location has upset Spain. "The situation is developing very rapidly, and legal action can be expected, " Goold said.

Odyssey has called the legal threat "absurd".

Odyssey Marine will get a salvage award no matter who owns the shipwreck. In past cases the finder typically retains 90% of the salvage.

http://www.chronicle.gi/readarticle.php?id=000011438&title=The%20Gibraltar%20Chronicle

"Spain’s Foreign Ministry has made a formal contact with Britain to seek clarification on the question of the Odyssey Marine Exploration treasure haul that was flown out from Gibraltar to Florida almost a fortnight ago."

There is much more than treasure underneath all of this. The issues are between the UK and Spain concerning Gibraltar and it's territorial waters. Odyssey Marine has found itself in the center of this and has kept a low profile since announcing a record treasure haul on May 18th, 2007. On that date Odyssey Marine unveiled a potential $500Mil find in the Atlantic some say was the wreck of the Merchant Royal. There is much more treasure to recover but it is doubtful that OMR will return to the wreck until the political storms have cleared.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6705613.stm

Spain has launched legal action against US marine explorers over a wreck they have found laden with treasure.

A copy of the petition filed on May29th, 2007 can be seen here:
http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/dc/verclaimofSpain_MSS.pdf

A lawsuit should force Odyssey Marine into identifying the wreck some believe is the Merchant Royal. Spain wants clarification that the treasure is not Spanish and that it was not taken from the supposed HMS Sussex, a British warship, which sank in waters that Spain has claimed as its territory.

A 6 minute video showing new scenes of Odyssey Marine, the recovery of the SS Republic, and some of the recent treasure that might be from the Merchant Royal.

http://www.nowpublic.com/posible_expolio_de_tesoro_espanol

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/31/Business/Spain_sues_Odyssey_Ma.shtml

Spain filed suit Wednesday against Odyssey Marine Exploration over a 17th century merchant shipwreck that many believe to be that of the Merchant Royal. "The Kingdom of Spain has not abandoned its ownership and other rights in sunken vessels of the Kingdom of Spain, in vessels sunk while in the service of the Kingdom of Spain, and in cargo or other property of the Kingdom of Spain on or in sunken vessels," said the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Spain's representative U.S. lawyer, James Goold, said that Spain has filed claims against three wrecks that OMR has discovered; an Italian-registered passenger boat, the Ancona, found last year in the Mediterranean; an unidentified vessel located west of Gibraltar; and the latest, the Black Swan, a 17th century merchant ship that drew international attention when it yielded 500,000 silver coins and nearly doubled OMR's stock price overnight.

Spain believes that the Black Swan sank in 1641 while under contract with the King and was carrying Spanish funds. It is not clear just how strong a case Spain has but there are precedents with an earlier case concerning the Juno and La Galga, in which salvagers discovered Spanish ships in U.S. waters and were made to return the artifacts they recovered back to Spain.

A statement from Odyssey said that even if Spain can demonstrate its legal rights over the treasure site, the company still has a way in which they will be able to keep 90% of the find.

The Law of the Sea in a Nutshell (Nutshell Series)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/assateague.htm

An interesting synopsis of the Legal battle over the shipwrecks La Galga and the Juno and how Spanish artifacts recovered from those wrecks wound up in NPS locations such as the Assateague Island National Seashore.

The legal battle of La Galga and Juno is important because it may set precedent for Spain's claim of the recent shipwreck and treasure recovered by Odyssey Marine. There is a difference, however, in that the La Galga and Juno were in U.S. territorial waters while the Black Swan is reported to be in international waters. Many say the Black Swan is the Merchant Royal, an English merchant ship which sank in 1641. Spain has said that if it is the Merchant Royal it was under contract to the King of Spain and therefore the treasure belongs to Spain.

At least 43 of the 390 areas comprising the National Park System contain or commemorate some aspect of Spanish heritage. Spanish shipwrecks are in or near seven areas – places like Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia; Biscayne National Park, Canaveral National Seashore, and Dry Tortugas National Park, all in Florida; Gulf Islands National Seashore, in Florida and Mississippi; Padre Island National Seashore in Texas; and Point Reyes National Seashore in California.

http://shipwreck.net/pr136.html

Odyssey Marine Exploration (AMEX:OMR), a leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, stated today that claims in the press that the Kingdom of Spain has filed a lawsuit against Odyssey were false.

Odyssey’s counsel spoke to Jim Goold, the D.C. lawyer representing Spain, and Goold confirmed in a conversation this morning that Spain has NOT filed a lawsuit against Odyssey, and that any media reports suggesting that a lawsuit was filed are wrong.

The only document filed is a Verified Claim stating that the Spanish Government does not intend to give up property rights to any Spanish property which might be on sites on which Odyssey filed Admiralty arrests during the past year, including two unidentified colonial sites in the Atlantic Ocean and a 20th century steamship.

It has been suggested that the latest shipwreck discovered by OMR was the Merchant Royal. Spain has stated that the Merchant Royal may have been under contract to the King of Spain and therefore the treasure belongs the Spain.