22 February 2008

MADRID - What could be a new strike of gold for a US treasure-hunting firm may turn into another judicial battle for the Spanish government. Odyssey Marine Exploration announced on Thursday that it was taking over the ownership of an 18th-century sunken vessel, which was discovered several years ago by another salvage firm 12 miles off the coast of North Carolina.

While Odyssey declined to identify publicly the ship's origin or its contents, papers filed in the US District Court by the salvage company BDJ Discovery Group state that the treasure contained Spanish coins, emeralds, and silver and gold bars. Odyssey, a Tampa, Florida-based firm, told the court in North Carolina that it was assuming the ownership of the salvage site from BDJ Discovery. Odyssey's latest move is expected to draw a response from Spain which will seek to prevent the firm from gaining the property. Madrid is already engaged in a heated legal battle over the ownership of three shipwrecks Odyssey intends to salvage in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Lawyers for Odyssey have given the ship a codename, the Firefly. However, a preliminary investigation indicates that it could be the Spanish galleon El Salvador, which went down with three other Armada vessels during a hurricane sometime in the mid-1700s.

BDJ Discovery, a North Carolina firm, asked a US federal judge in 2005 to grant it ownership of the shipwreck. It had brought up to two Spanish half Reale coins, six gold bars, two silver bars, three small shards of silver and two emeralds. A hurricane in October 2005 forced BDJ Discovery to abandon the salvage operation.

According to historical documents, the El Salvador's final resting place is near Topsail Inlet, near Beaufort, N. C. The area was a major seaport during the heyday of England's notorious pirate Edward Teach, better known as "Blackbeard." His ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, ran aground near Beaufort in 1718.

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