Message #150746

[Bianca]

CODE NAME 'BLACK SWAN'



The Mercedes sank in the first few minutes of the Battle of Cape St. Mary's as an explosion ripped it apart, killing more than 200 sailors. The attack led Spain to declare war on Britain and enter the Napoleonic Wars on the side of France.

Pizzo said in his report there was solid evidence the wreckage was that of the Mercedes, as Spain argued.

"The debris field's location, coins, cannons and artifacts persuasively match the Mercedes historical record," he wrote.

He said the Tampa court did not have jurisdiction in the case and recommended the artifacts be returned to Spain.

Odyssey, which had code-named its recovery project "Black Swan," said it planned to file a written objection to the decision and would "vigorously defend its rights to what it has legally recovered."

"We'll be back to argue the merits of the case," Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said. "Odyssey has done everything by the book. For the court to find that enough evidence exists to conclusively identify the site as the Mercedes ... is just wrong."

Peru, which was ruled by Spain at the time the Mercedes was sunk, entered the legal fray in August when it filed a claim for information with the Tampa court. The filing said the coins may be "part of the patrimony of the Republic of Peru."



(Additional reporting by

Ben Harding
in Madrid;

Editing by
John O'Callaghan)