http://shipwreck.net/pr140.html
Tampa, FL - July 12, 2007 - Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:OMEX) survey vessel, the Ocean Alert, has been forced by the Spanish Guardia Civil to the port of Algeciras for inspection despite assurances yesterday from Spanish judicial authorities that the ship was only to be inspected at sea and would not be taken into a Spanish port. At this point, Odyssey is assuming that the action on the part of the Guardia Civil is a miscommunication between Spanish authorities.
Odyssey's Panama-flagged ship Ocean Alert was boarded by the Spanish Guardia Civil this morning approximately 3.5 miles south of Europa Point in Gibraltar, which is considered international waters pursuant to the Law of the Sea Convention. After boarding the ship, the Guardia Civil went to the ship's bridge and threatened the Captain of the ship with the use of force if he did not turn the ship around and take it to the Spanish port of Algeciras. The ship has now arrived in Algeciras, and an inspection of the vessel has commenced. An Odyssey representative has been informed that the inspection may take as long as two to three days, and it is anticipated that the vessel will be permitted to leave at the conclusion of the inspection.
The day before the planned departure, Odyssey legal representatives met with the Guardia Civil and the La Linea judge to inform them of the planned time of departure for the Ocean Alert from Gibraltar and to arrange a location for a consensual boarding and inspection at sea in international waters. Although Odyssey has never received a Spanish court order to inspect or seize Company vessels, it has been reported by the Spanish media that a judge in the Court of La Linea de la Concepcion (Cadiz) had issued such an order, apparently assuming that the "Black Swan" recovery was conducted illegally in Spanish territorial waters, which had been reported erroneously in the media. Odyssey has repeatedly stated that the "Black Swan" recovery was conducted in the Atlantic Ocean outside of any country's territorial waters or contiguous zone.
Odyssey recently provided a 109-page legal affidavit to authorities in the Spanish Federal government, the Junta de Andalucia, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, and the United States detailing Odyssey's activities leading up to, and after, the announcement of the "Black Swan" discovery. This document (which covered nine years of communications and meetings between Odyssey, the Junta of Andalucia and the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain) was provided in order to address questions posed by the Spanish regarding Odyssey's activities and to reassure all concerned governments and officials that Odyssey has always acted legally and with full transparency in relation to the "Black Swan" project and in all other shipwreck exploration activities.
"We were pleased to provide this information to the interested government officials to help clear up any confusion that has been created by inaccurate media reports," stated Greg Stemm, Odyssey co-founder. "We always attempt to work with appropriate governments on shipwreck projects in which they may have an interest and look forward to addressing any issues of claims or legal jurisdiction related to the "Black Swan" in the proper venue, which is US Federal Court."
In addition to providing the detailed 109-page affidavit, Odyssey announced last week that it will provide additional information as requested by Spain to the U.S. Federal Court judge later this month. This additional information will contain archaeological reports and additional information on three deep-ocean sites located outside the territorial waters of any country on which Odyssey properly filed Warrants of Arrest in the U.S. Federal Court sitting in admiralty jurisdiction. These reports are expected to be filed on or before July 23, 2007 with the U.S. Federal Court, which has assumed jurisdiction over the sites.