Odyssey Marine Exploration Determines Media Reports Alleging Spanish Shipwreck Lawsuit To Be Incorrect
May 31 2007 - 10:59AM
Business Wire
Odyssey Marine Exploration (AMEX:OMR), the world's leader in the
field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, stated today that it has
determined that claims in the press that the Kingdom of Spain has
filed a lawsuit against Odyssey were false. Odyssey�s counsel spoke
to Jim Goold, the lawyer apparently representing Spain, and Goold
confirmed in a conversation this morning that Spain has NOT filed a
lawsuit against Odyssey, and that any media reports suggesting that
a lawsuit was filed are erroneous. The only document filed is a
Verified Claim stating that the Spanish Government does not intend
to give up property rights to any Spanish property which might be
on sites on which Odyssey filed Admiralty arrests during the past
year, including two unidentified colonial sites in the Atlantic
Ocean and a 20th century steamship. �Such a move was anticipated by
Odyssey and is considered normal in Admiralty cases,� commented
John Morris, Odyssey�s CEO. None of the arrested sites have been
confirmed as the "Black Swan" and Odyssey has informed the Spanish
Government through official diplomatic channels that when - and if
- the identity of the "Black Swan" is confirmed, Odyssey will
notify any entities that might have an interest - including the
Spanish Government - of the specific information about the
shipwreck. In Odyssey's press release of May 21, 2007 the Company
anticipated such an action from possible claimants and addressed
the issue as follows: �If we are able to confirm that some other
entity has a legitimate legal claim to this shipwreck when - and if
- the identity is confirmed, we intend to provide legal notice to
any and all potential claimants. Even if another entity is able to
prove that it has an ownership interest in the shipwreck and/or
cargo and that they had not legally abandoned the shipwreck,
Odyssey would apply for a salvage award from the Admiralty Court.
In cases such as this, salvors are typically awarded up to 90% of
the recovery. �We do believe that most shipwrecks that we recover,
including the `Black Swan', will likely result in claims by other
parties. Many will be spurious claims, but we anticipate that there
might be some legitimate ones as well. In the case of the `Black
Swan', it is the opinion of our legal counsel that even if a claim
is deemed to be legitimate by the courts, Odyssey should still
receive title to a significant majority of the recovered goods.�
Until now, Odyssey has confined all communications to the Spanish
government to official channels through the UK and US embassies in
Spain in order to ensure that all information relayed is accurate.
Odyssey will continue to communicate through the US and UK
embassies to Spain and again confirms that the "Black Swan"
shipwreck was not found in Spanish waters or the territorial waters
of any sovereign nation. Once the identity of the shipwreck is
confirmed, Odyssey will inform all parties that may have an
interest. For additional information, please contact Natja Igney,
Odyssey's Manager of Corporate Communications, at 813-876-1776 ext
2553. About Odyssey Marine Exploration Odyssey Marine Exploration
is a Publicly Traded US Company with several shipwreck projects in
various stages of development throughout the world. Additional
information about Odyssey, the "Black Swan" project, and the
Company's other activities is available at www.shipwreck.net.
Odyssey Marine Exploration believes the information set forth in
this Press Release may include "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Act of 1934. Certain factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements are set forth in "Risk Factors" in the
Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2006, which has been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Odyssey Marine Expl (AMEX:OMR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Odyssey Marine Expl (AMEX:OMR)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024