Greg Stemm (left) and rom Dettweiler examining a coin recovered from the 'Black Swan' shipwreck by Odyssey Marine Exploration. -- PHOTO: AP
TAMPA (Florida) - FLORIDA deep-sea explorers who raised an estimated US$500 million (S$750 million) treasure from the 200-year-old wreck of a Spanish galleon should give all the loot back to Spain, a federal magistrate judge said.
But the two-year tug-of-war over the 17 tons of silver coins and other artifacts from what is believed to be the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes y las Animas is likely far from over.
Odyssey Marine Exploration said it will oppose Wednesday's written recommendation by US Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo, which will be considered by another federal judge who will issue an order later.
Odyssey CEO Greg Stemm said on Thursday the company is prepared to keep fighting.
'This case addresses some very significant legal issues, so in the beginning it became fairly clear it was going to go to the appellate court level,' Mr Stemm said.
Judge Pizzo's written recommendation said the wreck is almost certainly that of the Mercedes, a navy galleon that sank in the Atlantic Ocean west of Portugal in 1804. He accepted the Spanish government's argument that it had never expressly surrendered ownership of the ship and its contents.
Odyssey has argued that it still lacks conclusive proof of the ship's identity and disputed the Spanish government's ownership of the valuable cargo.
'We are very happy,' Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde told reporters on Thursday. 'This decision is very important. I am glad the judge has really seen that the ship and the treasure belong to Spain.' -- AP
