Odyssey name the mystery Black Swan treasure ship

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Odyssey name the mystery Black Swan treasure ship
By h.b. - Apr 13, 2008 - 7:58 PM
ALSO SEE : • Spain convinced it will win the Odyssey treasure case, claiming the identity of the ship concerned is now known - May 8, 2008 - 5:47 PM
• Spanish Government confirms its interest in the Odyssey treasure find - May 2, 2008 - 7:48 AM

The Odyssey Explorer leaving the port of Algeciras last year - Photo EFE
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The company says the most likely probability is that the vessel is the Spanish galleon 'Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes'.
The ‘Black Swan’, the name of the vessel found by the United States treasure salvage company, Odyssey, has finally been revealed to be ‘Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes’ – a Spanish galleon which went down in a battle with the British on October 5 1804 off Faro in Portugal.

The Mercedes was loaded with gold and silver, and included the wages for the soldiers and wealth of the mercenaries travelling on board. The estimated value of the treasure recovered by Odyssey is close to 1.5 million $.

Odyssey announced the find, without naming or locating the vessel, in May last year, saying they had found 17 tons of silver coins, and at the time the Spanish Government thought that La Mercedes had been found.

The judge who is hearing the case between the two sides, Mark Pizzo, had given Odyssey 30 days to reveal the boat’s identity, but the co-founder of the company told El País on Friday that there was still some doubt as to the vessel’s identity.

Legal experts now consider that Spain will now argue that they had never searched for La Mercedes, but that does not mean that the ship had been abandoned, and because it was acting for the Spanish state at the time of the battle the Spanish Government can now reclaim her and her contents.

Odyssey however consider that the boat was not engaged in military activity when she went down, and if anyone is entitled to the contents it is the family descendents of those on board.
The legal battle is set to last for months, if not years to come.

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ALSO SEE :
• Spain convinced it will win the Odyssey treasure case, claiming the identity of the ship concerned is now known - May 8, 2008 - 5:47 PM
• Spanish Government confirms its interest in the Odyssey treasure find - May 2, 2008 - 7:48 AM
• Odyssey now not sure about the identity of treasure ship found off Spanish coast - Apr 19, 2008 - 10:57 AM
• New United States treasure hunt for the cargo of a 17th century Spanish galleon - Mar 24, 2008 - 8:09 PM
• Court asks Spain and Odyssey Marine to settle differences on treasure find - Mar 6, 2008 - 10:12 PM
• Odyssey told to provide information on treasure find to the Spanish government - Jan 10, 2008 - 9:30 PM
• Call for a confidentiality agreement in the Odyssey treasure case - Nov 27, 2007 - 7:32 AM
• Odyssey Explorer leaves the port of Algeciras - Oct 21, 2007 - 12:49 PM
• Search of Odyssey Explorer reported to be completed in Algeciras - Oct 19, 2007 - 8:15 AM
• Judge releases the Captain of the Odyssey Explorer - Oct 17, 2007 - 4:37 PM

Comments

Paulo
14 Apr 2008, 20:39

If anyone "owns" this ship it is the British as it -once defeated in battle- is now a war prize left on the ocean for safekeeping.
All the gold & silver Spain stole from the Americas needs to be returned as part of mour cultural heritage, and as a small part of the reparations due us for theft & slavery.

Robert
14 Apr 2008, 22:03

Odyssey Company deserves to keep every bit of this recovery. If the Spanish wanted it, they should have put out the money and effort to find it. Wanting it or even looking for a lost ship is not enough to claim ownership or rights. And why should the recovery be given to the decendants of the ship? Most of Spains riches from abroad were the result of rape, murder, pillage and brutal force theft. Read the history of the Incas and how they were conquored, not by the Italians, not the French, not the English, Africans or Germans. It was the Spanish who murdered their way across the Americas. The only thing the Spanish deserve is to know that they don't get a dime, unless bodies are found, which I think should be returned. Any US Judge that says otherwise should be expelled to live in the South American jungle with the remaining indigenous natives. Then let's see how sympathetic he or she is to the murderous Spanish Government! BTW-I have no axe to grind with the Spanish Government, other than the subject of this post. Spanish is my second language and I hope to visit Spain in the very near future. IF we give the Spanish one cent from this recovery we might as well give Texas back to Mexico.

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