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Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is an American company engaged in deep-ocean exploration with a focus on the exploration, development and extraction of subsea mineral resources.[2] Starting out as a shipwreck pioneer, Odyssey has discovered some of the most famous deep-ocean shipwrecks in history, including Ancona, Gairsoppa, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, Republic, and HMSVictory. Their work has been featured on the Discovery Channel, PBS and National Geographic.
Odyssey's ROV is deployed in the deep ocean to visit a mineral resource.
In 2009, Odyssey announced it acquired a minority interest in SMM Project LLC., a company with licenses to explore in four different areas in the South Pacific. This marked the beginning of Odyssey’s transition into a mineral exploration company.
Odyssey later executed a charter agreement with Chatham Rock Phosphate to undertake site investigation work for its offshore permit area on the Chatham Rise.[3] Odyssey also owns a minority ownership stake in Neptune Minerals, a company focused on discovering and commercializing high-value mineral deposits from the ocean floor.
In March 2013, Odyssey disclosed an ownership interest in Oceanica Resources, S. de R.L., and Exploraciones Oceanicas, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“ExO”), a subsidiary of Oceanica. ExO conducts mineral exploration and controls exclusive permits in an area in Mexican waters that contains a large amount of phosphate mineralized material.[4] According to its latest financial report, Odyssey Marine Exploration controls ExO through the company's majority ownership stake in Oceanica. Odyssey performed all of the exploration to find and validate the mineralized phosphate deposit and is managing the environmental studies, including an NI 43-101 report in 2014, and environmental permit application process with ExO.[5] The current resource assessment defines the deposit as containing 588.3 million tonnes of phosphate ore with an average in situP2O5 of 18.1%, overburden of 1.14 meters and ore thickness of 2.80 meters.[6] This makes it one of the largest phosphate deposits to be discovered in the world.
In July 2019, Odyssey acquired a nearly 80% ownership interest in Bismarck Mining Corporation, a company that owns an exploration license for 320 square kilometers containing at least five exploration targets in two different mineralization types (seamount-related epithermal and modern placer gold). The license area is adjacent to Lihir Island in Papua New Guinea where one of the world’s largest known terrestrial gold deposits is currently being mined and processed by Newcrest Mining.[7]
In 2020, Odyssey announced it was a member of the CIC Consortium providing marine services to the project. The company holds a 16% stake in CIC. On February 23, 2022, CIC was awarded a five-year exploration license by the Cook Islands’ Seabed Mineral Authority (SBMA). Environmental research expedition details are being finalized and operations are expected to begin within the second quarter of 2022.[8]
On June 4, 2023, Odyssey entered into a purchase agreement to acquire a 13% interest in Ocean Minerals LLC (OML) in exchange for a contribution by Odyssey of its interest in a 6,000-meter remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and cash contributions of up to $10 million in a series of transactions over the next year. The purchase agreement allows Odyssey to acquire a total of up to 40% of OML over the next 18 months at Odyssey’s discretion.[9] Moana Minerals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of OML, holds a five-year exploration license from the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) granted in 2022 to explore polymetallic nodules within the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).[10]
According to the company’s website, they have various additional projects in development for other mineral deposits in various jurisdictions around the world.
History
Gregory Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, along with an archaeologist exploring a shipwreck site
Odyssey was founded in 1994 by shipwreck exploration pioneers Greg Stemm and John Morris.
Between 1998 and 2001, Odyssey Marine Exploration searched for HMS Sussex and stated that it believed it had located the shipwreck off Gibraltar at a depth of 821 metres. The English ship sank in a storm in 1694 during the War of the Grand Alliance as it was transporting 10 tons of gold coins to buy the allegiance of the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, against France.
Odyssey’s first big treasure discovery came in 2003 when they found the Civil War-Era shipwreck of Republic.[11] An extensive archaeological excavation was conducted that included a pre-disturbance survey and around 2,500 underwater high-resolution images captured and used to create a photomosaic of the entire site.[12] Over 51,000 gold and silver coins were recovered from the site[13][dubious–discuss] as well as 14,000 artifacts.[14] Six archaeological reports were written about the shipwreck project and two books were published, Lost Gold of the Republic and Bottles from the Deep.[15] PBS and National Geographic also aired documentaries on the discovery.
The company has also discovered several less famous shipwrecks of archaeological importance including one code-named “Blue China” a 19th Century trading vessel found in 2005 during the company’s search for the Republic.[16] When Odyssey returned to the site in 2005, an extensive amount of post-wreck destruction caused by modern fishing trawl nets dragged over the site was noted. The company moved forward with creating a photomosaic and recovering the remaining artifacts before further destruction occurred.[16]
In December 2005 Odyssey began an archaeological investigation of the site believed to be HMS Sussex. The company adhered to the project plan submitted and accepted by the Sussex Archaeological Executive, a committee of archaeological consultants approved by the UK Government. As of 2009, Odyssey had completed Phase 1A (the non-disturbance survey) and a substantial portion of Phase 1B (trial excavation of the site believed to be HMS Sussex) to the satisfaction of the UK Government.
In early June 2006, Odyssey provided clarification to Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the offices of the embassy of the United Kingdom and awaited final comments on the plan before resuming operations on the shipwreck believed to be that of the Sussex. In March 2007, Andalusia gave its assent for the excavation to start with the condition that Spanish archaeologists take part in order to ascertain that the shipwreck to be excavated was indeed the Sussex and not a Spanish vessel.[17] While waiting for Andalusia to appoint an archaeologist to participate in the Sussex expedition, the company began operations on the "Black Swan" excavation. In 2009, Odyssey Marine Exploration published an archaeological report on the Sussex project and the groundbreaking work they had completed to date.[18]
In May 2007, the company announced the recovery of 17 tons of mainly silver and some gold coins from a site in an undisclosed location in international waters, which the company code-named the "Black Swan". Some believed that the shipwreck could be the Spanish frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes,[19] which exploded and sank in the action of 5 October 1804, but no definitive shipwreck hull or unique cargo was discovered to conclusively prove the theory.
Following the discovery, Odyssey brought the coins and artifacts recovered into the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Court by filing an admiralty arrest pursuant to admiralty law. At that time, the Spanish government claimed that they believed the site was in Spanish territorial waters.[20] The Spanish Government has since conceded that claim and sought to claim the discovered treasure based on their belief that the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes should be afforded sovereign immunity.[21]
On July 12, 2007, the Civil Guard seized the Odyssey Marine Exploration research vessel Ocean Alert3.5 nautical miles (6km) off the European coast. The Spanish Civil Guard claims to be responsible for customs control and European Union borders in this region, under the EU Schengen Agreement. This, however, is disputed by the Government of Gibraltar and the UK Government who claim that the ship was detained in international waters near Gibraltar and that Spain therefore had no legal authority to board the vessel without the express consent of the flag state of the ship—in this case, Panama. The Gibraltar Government stated that although this was a matter for the Government of Panama, they are "concerned that international shipping using Gibraltar port should be interfered with in this way in international waters."[22] The ship was ordered to sail to the Spanish port of Algeciras to undergo a search and inspection.[23] Issues include the value and cultural significance of the shipwreck and the disputed status of Gibraltar between the UK and Spain.[24][dubious–discuss]Panama is also involved because Odyssey's vessel is flagged there.[25] In 2010, Odyssey's Captain Sterling Vorus was cleared of all charges by a court in Algeciras, Spain, relating to the blockade and boarding of the Odyssey Explorer.[26] The Spanish court ruled that Spanish officials did not have proper authorization to board or search Odyssey's ship in 2007.[26]
In January 2011, Odyssey Marine claimed that the language used in recently leaked diplomatic cables showed that the US State Department had been involved with negotiations to assist the Spanish government in receiving the treasure in exchange for the return of allegedly stolen artwork to a US private citizen. The US State Department declined comment while Spain denied Odyssey Marine's claim.[27] The Department of State's Office of Inspector General subsequently investigated the charges in response to a request by Representative Kathy Castor of Florida. In March 2011, it determined that it could find no evidence of a connection between the Black Swan case and the negotiations for the return of the artwork in question (a Pissarro painting).[28]
A U.S. federal judge awarded the treasure to Spain in December 2009, on the ground that the ship remained the property of Spain, but Odyssey appealed the ruling. Finally, after a five-year legal battle, in February 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Odyssey Marine to relinquish the treasure to Spanish authorities. Spain's culture minister indicated the treasure would be divided among several national museums.[29] In September 2013, a U.S. district judge further ruled that Odyssey had acted in "bad faith" and engaged in "abusive litigation", should have recognized Spain's right, and should thus reimburse $1 million in Spain's attorneys fees.[30] Odyssey then issued a statement recognizing that this case was unusual since it was the first time a court has made an order without accepting jurisdiction but that the court ruling has clarified the applicable law, which Odyssey is committed to respecting.
Gairsoppa discovery and beyond
The Odyssey crew inspects some of the silver recovered from the Gairsoppa shipwreck site.
In 2009, Odyssey Marine Exploration's searches were the subject of the Discovery Channel program, Treasure Quest. The program revealed that Odyssey discovered Admiral Balchin’s long-lost HMS Victory shipwreck that had eluded explorers for 265 years.[31]
In 2011, Odyssey announced it discovered the shipwreck site of Gairsoppa, a steel-hulled British cargo steamship that was in the service of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport and sunk by a German U-boat on February 16, 1941, approximately 300 miles southwest of Galway, Ireland. Odyssey discovered the site at a depth of 4700 meters with the recovery of 61 tons of silver.[32] Through a two year expedition, they recovered over 110 tons of silver ingots.[33] The expedition was the subject of a three part Discovery Channel docuseries called Silver Rush. In addition to silver, 717 letters, the largest collection of mail found on any shipwreck worldwide, was recovered and archaeologically conserved from the shipwreck and are now on display at the Postal Museum in the UK.[34]
In 2014, Odyssey Marine Exploration was selected to salvage gold from the 1857 shipwreck of Central America.[35] The expedition led to the recovery of more than 15,500 gold and silver coins, 45 gold bars and hundreds of other gold nuggets, gold dust, jewelry and artifacts.[36]
In December 2015, Odyssey announced the sale of part of its assets to a company called Monaco Financial for $21 million. This capital allowed the company to reimburse a $11.7 million bank debt. Sold assets included the company's headquarters building in Florida, 50% of underwater mining business Neptune Minerals and a profit-sharing agreement on future shipwreck salvages. CEO Mark Gordon also stated that the company would refocus on underwater mining, while shipwreck exploration would remain "part of the mix".[37]
Artifacts recovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration are displayed in venues across the world, including a Virtual Museum,[38] which is free to the public. The SHIPWRECKED Treasure Museum in Branson, MO, is home to over 500 artifacts recovered by Odyssey from different shipwrecks.[39] Pirates Treasure Museum in St Thomas, USVI, also houses many of the artifacts recovered by Odyssey.[40]
Related Research Articles
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately three million shipwrecks worldwide as of January 1999, according to Angela Croome, a science writer and author who specialized in the history of underwater archaeology.
Mel Fisher was an American treasure hunter best known for finding the 1622 wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha in Florida waters.
SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after George Law of New York. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with 425 of her 578 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.
The Bay of Gibraltar, is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around 10 km (6.2 mi) long by 8 km (5.0 mi) wide, covering an area of some 75 km2 (29 sq mi), with a depth of up to 400 m (1,300 ft) in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.
HMS Victory was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the dimensions of the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Portsmouth Dockyard, and launched on 23 February 1737.
Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
SS Republic was a sidewheel steamship, originally named SS Tennessee, lost in a hurricane off the coast of Georgia in October 1865, en route to New Orleans.
San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park located in 18 feet (5.5 m) of water, approximately 1.25 nautical miles (2.32 km) south of Indian Key. It became the second Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve when it opened to the public in 1989. The heart of the park is the San Pedro, a submerged shipwreck from a 1733 Spanish flotilla, around which visitors can dive and snorkel. The San Pedro, a 287-ton Dutch-built vessel, and 21 other Spanish ships under the command of Rodrigo de Torres left Havana, Cuba, on Friday, July 13, 1733, bound for Spain. The San Pedro carried a cargo of 16,000 silver Mexican pesos and crates of Chinese porcelain. A hurricane struck the fleet, while entering the Straits of Florida, and sank or swamped most of the fleet. The wrecksite includes an "eighteenth century anchor, replica cannons, ballast stones encrusted with coral, a dedication plaque, and a mooring buoy system." The wreck was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2001.
Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities.
The 1715 Treasure Fleet was actually a combination of two Spanish treasure fleets returning from the New World to Spain, the "Nueva España Fleet", under Captain-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla, and the "Tierra Firme Fleet", under Don Antonio de Echeverz y Zubiza. At two in the morning on Wednesday, July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from Havana, Cuba, all eleven ships of the fleet were lost in a hurricane along the east coast of Florida. A 12th ship, the French frigate Le Grifon, had sailed with the fleet. Its captain was unfamiliar with the Florida coastline and elected to stay further out to sea. Le Grifon safely returned to Europe.
Robert F. Marx was an American pioneer in scuba diving, a prolific author, and was best known for his work as an avocational marine archaeologist. Over his career, he discovered over 5000 shipwrecks in over 60 countries. Although some accused him of treasure hunting, fellow avocational archeologist E. Lee Spence described Marx as the "true father of underwater archaeology". Marx also helped write UNESCO legislation regarding shipwrecks.
HMS Sussex was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, lost in a severe storm on 1 March 1694 off Gibraltar. On board were possibly 10 tons of gold coins. This could now be worth more than $500 million, including the bullion and antiquity values, making it one of the most valuable wrecks ever.
The Black Swan Project is the project name given by Odyssey Marine Exploration for its discovery and recovery of an estimated US$500 million worth of silver and gold coins from the ocean floor. Initially Odyssey kept the origin of the treasure confidential. It was later proved in trial that the recovered cargo was being carried by the Spanish frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, which was sunk by the British Royal Navy off Portugal in 1804.
Treasure Quest is a one-hour weekly American reality television series that premiered on January 15, 2009 on the Discovery Channel. The program follows the employees of Odyssey Marine Exploration as they search the English Channel for various lost ships. The team is led by company CEO Gregory Stemm and Tom Dettweiler.
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria.
The R/V Odyssey Explorer was a salvage and recovery vessel owned by Odyssey Marine Exploration. It was sold in 2016 and renamed Empire Persia by the Latvian business conglomerate which purchased the vessel.
San Esteban was a Spanish cargo ship that was wrecked in a storm in the Gulf of Mexico on what is now the Padre Island National Seashore in southern Texas on 29 April 1554.
The conservation and restoration of shipwreck artifacts is the process of caring for cultural heritage that has been part of a shipwreck. Oftentimes these cultural artifacts have been underwater for a great length of time. Without conservation, most artifacts would perish and important historical data would be lost. In archaeological terms, it is usually the responsibility of an archaeologist and conservator to ensure that material recovered from a shipwreck is properly cared for. The conservation phase is often time-consuming and expensive, which is one of the most important considerations when planning and implementing any action involving the recovery of artifacts from a shipwreck.
The Douglass Beach Site is a marine inundated archaeological site on the eastern side of southern Florida. The site has two components; a cultural formation and a natural formation. The cultural formation aspect of the site is an 18th-century Spanish shipwreck, created when the 1715 century Spanish Plate Fleet ran aground near shore. Famed for their transport of gold and silver from the New World to Spain, the Spanish Plate Fleet site has been a destination for salvagers since the early 1960s. An archaic terrestrial site lies under the remains of the Spanish Plate Fleet and makes up the site's natural formation. Fossils of megafauna from the Pleistocene era have been uncovered here as well as some Native American artifacts. The terrestrial site's formation is believed to have been caused by years of sediment deposition and the slow accumulation of faunal remains caused by barrier island formation. The duality of this site makes it unique and an area of intrigue for archaeologists interested in exploring the factors influencing marine-inundated site preservation and the processes responsible marine-site formation.
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US$ 3.1million (FY 2019) [1] 
