OME losses court case and 500,000 million

what ever happened to the law of salvage. they should be able to keep it or get a good % of its value, like 50 %.

Kinda interesting in a historical perspective: The gold that the Spanish stole from Native Americans (all over America, not just the US) should now be returned to....? The Spanish
Hey' I want my money back too, the Vikings sailed to north America around 800, and they may have taken some gold too.

scottyt said:

what ever happened to the law of salvage. they should be able to keep it or get a good % of its value, like 50 %.

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Spain is claiming sovereign immunity in repects to salvage rights.

scottyt said:

what ever happened to the law of salvage. they should be able to keep it or get a good % of its value, like 50 %.

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I've only read a tiny bit of the judge's argument, but I did learn something new: Odyssey, the exploration company, is making a claim under the law of finds, not the law of salvage. Whereas the latter entitles salvers a fee for bringing the wreck up, the former is the one that actually grants ownership. The latter is the one you're supposed to worry about when getting help from another boat -- that entitles them to claim salvage against you, but not finds. I.e., a fee for helping out, but not ownership of your vessel.

Anyway I don't know much about international martime law but it seems unjust unless Spain had been actively engaged in recovering this wreckage for the past two hundred years. If you abandon a vessel (or any property) for that long, I don't think you should get to claim ownership over it, especially if you're a "sovereign" and not a natural person.

What a rip off.

So the lesson learned here is what ? If you find a valuable treasure full of interesting artifacts, history, etc, you should tell ... nobody ... or they'll steal it from you .. instead you should just quietly recover it, melt it down, and sell the bricks to the highest bidder, is that the message here ?

For the law of finds, it looks like they lost the easiest answer, in court. They still have to apeal, which will probably not be overturned, In My Amatuer Opinion (IMAO?).

For the law of salvage, they still have a good shot. That would give them a percentage, perhaps 50% of the find. Again IMAO.

That kind of news could ruin your whole day.

wind_magic said:

What a rip off.

So the lesson learned here is what ? If you find a valuable treasure full of interesting artifacts, history, etc, you should tell ... nobody ... or they'll steal it from you .. instead you should just quietly recover it, melt it down, and sell the bricks to the highest bidder, is that the message here ?

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Yep.

No point in preserving antiquities and history.

Just plunder, baby, plunder!!

JomsViking said:

Kinda interesting in a historical perspective: The gold that the Spanish stole from Native Americans (all over America, not just the US) should now be returned to....? The Spanish
Hey' I want my money back too, the Vikings sailed to north America around 800, and they may have taken some gold too.

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Totally correct. The people of Central and South America, have far more claim to this than the Spanish do. If a judge is going to come down against the finders using modern laws, then he should look at the theft of the gold in the first place.

Totally Mad

The ruling was made by a magistrate, who is not a full fledged federal judge. That is why it is couched as a recommendation. Before it becomes effective it must be approved by the judge who has jurisdiction over the case, and he could overrule it. So there are several layers of appeal left. That being said, the issue in the case is a jurisdictional one and the magistrate's decision appears to apply the law as it is, not necessarily as we would like it.

I'd be looking for some gold pieces in Pizzo's personal (hidden) accounts

btrayfors said:

I'd be looking for some gold pieces in Pizzo's personal (hidden) accounts

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I think he should put them back where he found them. Or, like, not exactly where he found them, but kinda sorta close, you know, within 30 miles of where he found them. Then let the Spanish government go search for it themselves.

What I don't get is, this was claimed to be found in international waters and they are not even sure if it is the Mercedes.

Common sence would dictate that Spain provide proof that it's indeed the Mercedes and that it is in territorial waters, short of that, I'd say they can pound sand and the loot stays here.

This just goes to prove that governments makes pirates look like pikers...

Wow...

I hate government. Government is like a big bully, they see that you found money on the bottom of the ocean, then lay claim to it, and intimidate you with prison. The world needs to change!

wind_magic said:

I think he should put them back where he found them. Or, like, not exactly where he found them, but kinda sorta close, you know, within 30 miles of where he found them. Then let the Spanish government go search for it themselves.

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Good idea. Or maybe spread it around a bit - like 1 gold coin every square mile. That should do it.

wind_magic said:

I think he should put them back where he found them. Or, like, not exactly where he found them, but kinda sorta close, you know, within 30 miles of where he found them. Then let the Spanish government go search for it themselves.

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Actually I think this is a great idea. Better than handing over the product of your labors to the People's State of Spain.