http://shipwreck.net/pr157.html
Odyssey Marine and Spain are at odds over three shipwreck sites that Odyssey had arrested in 2007. The Black Swan which was announced last May with a potential valuation of over $500Mil; The Land's End site, which may be the Merchant Royal, another fabulously rich shipwreck; and the Ancona, an Italian passenger ship which was torpedoed in 1915 and has gold and silver listed on it's manifest. Spain is certain that they have a claim on some if not all of these sites (lately it is looking like they will drop their claim on the Ancona).
Yesterday's court Order has advanced the court cases to the point where we should know whether or not Spain has any claims within the next 40 days.
March 12, 2008 - Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. today announced that United States Magistrate Judge, Mark Pizzo, has issued orders in three pending Admiralty cases that the Company believes will help to expeditiously move these cases forward. Two of the orders were in response to Spain's Motions to Compel Compliance and to Declare Certain Materials as Not Confidential.
The Judge ruled that the artifact summaries provided to Spain with photographs are not confidential, but that in the interest of protecting the site, other information including the preliminary site assessments, the site plans, the photographs of the sea bed and the photomosaics should remain confidential at this time.
The Court also clarified its January 10, 2008 order and indicated that Odyssey need not provide Spain with open access to Odyssey's research files at this stage of the litigation and that the information Odyssey has provided to Spain thus far is sufficient.
The Judge also issued interrogatories regarding possible theories as to the identity of any vessels which may be related to the sites. After receiving Odyssey's responses, Spain has 10 days to describe evidence that supports its claim to the vessel or artifacts.
The third order issued by Magistrate Pizzo today requires Spain to provide a basis for a claim, if any, against the shipwreck believed to be SS Ancona within 30 days.