Odyssey Boat to Depart Spanish Port
By Boat Adviser • Jul 18th, 2007 • Category: Boat NewsA boat caught up in a court battle over a $500 million sunken treasure was cleared to leave a Spanish port Tuesday after an inspection by police, authorities and the Florida-based company said.
The Ocean Alert was seized by the Civil Guard on Thursday about three miles off Algeciras in southeastern Spain.
Authorities were acting on the order of a Spanish judge, who in June instructed police to seize two vessels belonging to Odyssey Marine Exploration if they left the British colony of Gibraltar - on Spain’s southern tip - and entered Spanish waters.
Odyssey, a treasure hunting company, said it had found the colonial-era shipwreck on May 18 and the coins have been flown to the United States from Gibraltar.
Spain filed claims last month in a U.S. federal court over Odyssey’s find, arguing that if the shipwrecked vessel was Spanish or was removed from its waters, the treasure belongs to Spain…
