US firm appeals against $500 mn Spanish treasure handover
January 22nd, 2010 - 8:11 am ICT by IANSMiami, Jan 22 (IANS/EFE) A US firm has appealed against a court order to handover $500-million-worth gold and silver coins it salvaged from the Atlantic Ocean to Spain, a company spokeswoman said.
The Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. has asked the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn a district judge’s order.
The Florida-based firm filed the appeal last week, Odyssey spokeswoman Liz Shows told EFE Thursday.
She said the company does not expect the court to rule on the matter for months.
On Dec 22, US district judge Steven D. Merryday gave Odyssey 10 days to handover the treasure it salvaged more than two years ago to Spain.
Merryday concluded that the treasure recovered by Odyssey came from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish navy frigate destroyed in battle in 1804. The vessel and its contents rightfully belong to Spain, he noted.
Mercedes sank in action against a British fleet Oct 5, 1804, off the coast of southern Portugal. Spain claims not only the vessel and cargo, but also the right to preserve the gravesite of more than 250 Spanish sailors and citizens who went down with the frigate.
Odyssey, however, contends that evidence of the commercial nature of Mercedes’ mission at the time legally nullifies the claim to sovereign immunity of that vessel.
Most of the coins aboard the Mercedes were commercial cargo being shipped as freight for a fee and were never owned by Spain, Odyssey maintains.
- Firm asks US court to block handover of treasure to Spain - Feb 07, 2012
- Treasure hunters eye underwater cultural heritage in Mexico - Feb 03, 2011
- Spanish treasure lands after 200 years - Feb 27, 2012
- Spanish treasure found off Florida - Mar 29, 2011
- US firm denied permission to hunt treasure in Spanish galleon - Feb 19, 2009
- Ring worth $500,000 recovered from sunken ship - Jun 26, 2011
- Spain says it'll share disputed treasure trove with Peru - Jun 27, 2008
- Ruins of 300-year-old church found in US - Jun 04, 2011
- Spanish priest arrested on child porn charges - Nov 13, 2010
- £155m treasure trove discovered on shipwreck - Sep 27, 2011
- Spain to hand over six suspected pirates for trial - Mar 24, 2010
- Coin minted in 1789 auctioned in Australia - Jul 05, 2011
- Priest hacked to death in Colombia - Sep 14, 2011
- World's richest man to set up art museum in Mexico - Jan 23, 2011
- Libyan rebels seek financial help from Spain - Jul 22, 2011
Tags: 11th us circuit court of appeals, british fleet, commercial cargo, commercial nature, company spokeswoman, district judge, gold and silver, handover, navy frigate, odyssey marine exploration, odyssey marine exploration inc, portugal spain, silver coins, southern portugal, sovereign immunity, spanish navy, spanish sailors, spanish treasure, us circuit court of appeals, worth gold