Spanish Government concerned at Odyssey treasure find
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By h.b. - May 19, 2007 - 7:53 PM
17 tons of silver and gold has been found, but the Odyssey company has not said where

The Spanish Guardia Civil are now keeping a close watch on the United States exploration vessel ‘Odyssey Explorer’ following the announcement that they have found the largest ever amount of treasure on the sea bed.

The increased control comes at the request of the Spanish Ministry of Culture in the face of a possible crime of the theft of Spanish heritage by the United States company.

500,000 silver and gold coins now look like being at the centre of a battle between Odyssey Marine Exploration and the Spanish state.

The exploration company announced on Friday that they had found no less than 17 tons of treasure from somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, but the Spaniards think the haul may have come from Spanish and not international waters. The treasure has an estimated value of 500 million dollars.

Odyssey have not given the name or any more details of the wreck they have found, using only the name ‘Black Swan’; They were in the Gibraltar area trying to locate the Sussex, a British vessel which went down in 1694 following a storm in the Strait. The Spaniards think the find may have been in the Spanish waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, with their suspicions highlighted by the arrival of a Boeing 757 at Gibraltar airport last Thursday. The plane took the treasure rapidly to New York.

Spain has signed the UNESCO convention on the protection of underwater culture, but the convention has not been signed by either the UK or the United States.

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