American treasure-hunters have been ordered to handover an estimated £250 million worth of gold and silver coins salvaged from a Spanish shipwreck in Atlantic waters.
The Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered 17 tons of gold and silver from a sunken vessel they code-named the "Black Swan" in March 2007. The Nasdaq-listed company refused to reveal the location of the wreck insisting that it had been found in international waters and therefore beyond the legal jurisdiction of any one country.
But when the record haul was announced Spain came to suspect the treasure had been looted from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish frigate laden with bullion from the Americas that sunk by the British off the coast of Portugal in October 1804.
Spain branded the Odyssey team "21st century pirates" and sent its navy to intercept vessels owned by Odyssey as they explored the waters around Spain. They seized equipment and records but failed to find the salvaged coins which had already been secretly flown out to a warehouse in Tampa, Florida.
In May 2007 the Spanish government launched legal proceedings with the US courts against Odyssey arguing that the wreck was protected by "sovereign immunity" which prohibits the unauthorised disturbance or commercial exploitation of state-owned naval vessels.
In a landmark ruling on Wednesday a judge at the Federal Court in Tampa found against Odyssey and ordered the treasure to be returned to Spain. Better Luck next time guys!
