Odyssey Explorer leaves Spain’s port of Algeciras

The captain of a treasure-hunting ship intercepted in a dispute over a 350 (m) million euro (500 (m) million US dollars) undersea find was released on Wednesday after being held overnight for questioning in a southern Spanish port city, his company said.

Sterling Vorus was detained after his ship, the Odyssey Explorer, was seized on Tuesday as it sailed into Spanish waters from the British colony of Gibraltar off Spain's southern tip, police said.

Spain's Civil Guard released Vorus after holding him overnight in the port city of Algeciras after Vorus refused to let officers board his ship, Odyssey Marine Exploration officials said in Florida. Police searched the vessel on Wednesday, they said.

The dispute began when Tampa, Florida based Odyssey announced the discovery of a colonial-era shipwreck in May and said hundreds of thousands of ancient coins found on the vessel had been flown to the United States from Gibraltar.

Spain filed claims in a US federal court over the find, arguing that if the shipwrecked vessel was Spanish, or the treasure was removed from its waters then the treasure belonged to Spain.

Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina said the government views Odyssey as modern-day pirates.

Odyssey has insisted the shipwreck codenamed "Black Swan" was in international waters, but has not given the exact location or the ship's name.

Another Odyssey vessel involved in the treasure hunt, Ocean Alert, was seized, searched and released after a week in July.

Marine Exploration co-chairman Greg Stemm insisted that Odyssey's activities are legitimate and transparent. He said the whole thing is very crazy.

Stemm refused to comment on news reports saying Odyssey removed high-tech equipment from the Explorer before Spanish investigators boarded the ship.

Source:eitb