Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) today announced that
United States Magistrate Judge, Mark Pizzo, has issued orders in three
pending Admiralty cases that the Company believes will help to
expeditiously move these cases forward. Two of the orders were in
response to Spain’s Motions to Compel
Compliance and to Declare Certain Materials as Not Confidential.
In these orders, the Judge ruled that the artifact summaries provided to
Spain with photographs are not confidential, but that in the interest of
protecting the site, other information including the preliminary site
assessments, the site plans, the photographs of the sea bed and the
photomosaics should remain confidential at this time.
The Court also clarified its January 10, 2008 order and indicated that
Odyssey need not provide Spain with open access to Odyssey’s
research files at this stage of the litigation and that the information
Odyssey has provided to Spain thus far is sufficient.
"We are extremely pleased with Magistrate Pizzo’s
recent order which will move the cases forward and help protect the
sites by keeping site information confidential at this time,”
stated Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey General Counsel. "We
believe that we have always acted in accordance with the Court’s
directives and we are glad that the Court has issued confirmation that
we have complied with the Court’s Disclosure
order.”
The Judge also issued interrogatories regarding possible theories as to
the identity of any vessels which may be related to the sites. After
receiving Odyssey’s responses, Spain has 10
days to describe evidence that supports its claim to the vessel or
artifacts.
Odyssey has previously avoided discussing speculative theories regarding
the identity of the shipwreck sites because the analysis of the data
available to the company did not, in the opinion of Odyssey's management
and lawyers, rise to the level of certainty sufficient to meet the
requirements of public disclosure pursuant to securities regulations. It
is also clear that speculating about the identity of the sites at this
stage would be inappropriate pursuant to nautical archaeological
best-practices in the evaluation of complex underwater sites.
"We are pleased to provide Spain with
possible theories about the possible identity of the sites under the
protection of this Court order although, as we have stated on previous
occasions, there is insufficient evidence at this time to confirm the
identity of the sites,” said Greg Stemm,
Odyssey Chairman and CEO. "We look forward to
resolving whether Spain believes it has a claim - and a justification
for that claim - on any of the sites within 10 days of providing them
with this information."
The third order issued by Magistrate Pizzo today requires Spain to
provide a basis for a claim, if any, against the shipwreck believed to
be SS Ancona within 30 days.
About Odyssey Marine Exploration. Inc.
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX) is engaged in the
archaeologically sensitive exploration and recovery of shipwrecks and
uses innovative methods and state-of-the-art technology to conduct
extensive search and archaeological recovery operations around the
world. Odyssey discovered the Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic
in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the
site nearly 1,700 feet deep. In May 2007, the Company announced the
largest historic deep-ocean treasure recovery of over 500,000 silver and
Gold coins, weighing 17 tons, from a Colonial era site code-named "Black
Swan." Most recently, Odyssey was named sole custodian for a
shipwreck site code-named "Firefly”
off the coast of North Carolina. In addition, Odyssey has several
shipwreck projects in various stages of development around the world.
Odyssey offers various ways to share in the excitement of deep-ocean
exploration by making shipwreck treasures and artifacts available to
collectors, the general public and students through its webstore,
exhibits, books, videos, merchandise, and educational programs.
Odyssey's "SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure"
exhibit recently ended its successful seven month engagement at the
Tampa Museum of Science and Industry and is scheduled to re-open at the
Detroit Science Center on March 24, 2008. For details on the Company's
activities and its commitment to the preservation of maritime heritage
please visit www.shipwreck.net.
® SS Republic is a registered
trademark of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.
Odyssey Marine Exploration believes the information set forth in this
Press Release may include "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act
of 1934. Certain factors that could cause results to differ materially
from those projected in the forward-looking statements are set forth in
"Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, which has been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
