US court ruling keeps location of shipwreck treasure secret

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US treasure hunters who allegedly extracted rich spoils from a sunken wreck in Spanish waters hailed three court rulings Wednesday that protect the secret location of their find.

The legal dispute began in May last year when Odyssey Marine Exploration announced that it had found half a million silver coins and hundreds of gold objects, somewhere in "international waters in the Atlantic Ocean".

Spain filed claims with a court in Tampa, Florida, arguing that if the shipwreck was Spanish or located in Spanish waters, any treasure would belong to Spain.

Odyssey said in a statement that US judge Mark Pizzo had issued three orders "that the company believes will help to expeditiously move these cases forward".

Two of the rulings were...