Spain sues US marine explorers over sunken treasure
The Spanish government has filed a lawsuit in a US federal court against an American treasure-hunting firm over a shipwreck they have found laden with a colonial-era treasure, the Culture Ministry said today
If the vessel was Spanish or was removed from Spanish waters, any treasure would belong to Spain, Spain says.
“Odyssey Marine Exploration has been requested in a letter to provide information concerning the identity of the ship and the material recovered, and has not responded with the details we were asking for,” said Susana Tello, Culture Ministry spokeswoman.
“Spain has decided to go to courts to claim its right in case the discovery is Spanish,” she added. Tello said the lawsuit was filed at the Tampa Courts on May 29.
Odyssey announced two week ago it had discovered a shipwreck it has codenamed “Black Swan” and 500,000 gold and silver coins somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
They only described the ship as a 17th-century merchant vessel that sank about 40 miles off the south-western tip of Cornwall. But the Florida-based company would not say exactly where the ship was or name it, citing security concerns.
