Exciting goings on off of Gibraltar yesterday:
A Spanish warship threatened to open fire on American treasure hunters yesterday as they tried to flee Gibraltar in the battle for a haul of gold and silver coins estimated to be worth half a billion dollars.
Amid rough seas, The Times watched from aboard the Odyssey Explorer as Spanish Civil Guards made two unsuccessful attempts to board the ship minutes after it set sail. However, high waves and driving rain made the operation impossible, prompting them to force the ship to port instead.
“Under the threat of deadly force, we have had to turn the ship around and proceed to Algeciras,” Aladar Nesser, an official from Odyssey Marien Exploration, said as the ship was escorted to port. The company claimed the ship was in international waters outside Gibraltar when the Spanish cut her off with a Corvette warship, a police patrol boat and a high-powered dinghy. Spain claims those waters are within its territorial boundaries. Source
3 Comments
October 29, 2007 at 12:02 am
the spanish dont have the brains to do the job wait until someone can then claim the booty typical spaniaird
March 27, 2008 at 8:05 am
It’s international waters
International treaty of treasure hunting – Strait of Gibraltar is international ocean
January 23, 2009 at 7:29 pm
those coins came from countries where spain was killing and robbing inhabitants in the name of their king far far away from gibraltar.