Spanish armada sets sail to claim deep-sea treasure

From Oct 6, The Guardian: Spanish armada sets sail to claim deep-sea treasure
Gulf of Cádiz race by Spain's navy to lay claim to hundreds of wrecks before US firm Odyssey can get there

Spanish armada sets sail to claim deep-sea treasure
Gulf of Cádiz race by Spain's navy to lay claim to hundreds of wrecks before US firm Odyssey can get there

Wednesday 6 October 2010

Spanish ministers watch as a Pluto submarine is lowered into the sea off Cadiz. The navy is trying to protect Spain's historical heritage from private salvagers. Photograph: AP

Spain has sent an armada into waters around its coasts to seek out hundreds of shipwrecks in an attempt to head off a US marine exploration firm accused of plundering Spanish property from the seabed.

Over the past month, more than 100 suspected shipwrecks have been located by the Spanish navy in the Gulf of Cádiz, considered one of the world's richest hunting grounds for underwater treasure.

Dozens of Spanish galleons returning from the colonies in South America in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are believed to have sunk in waters around Cádiz.

Royal Navy warships and other British vessels may also be among the wrecks the Spanish navy says it has located.

Between 500 and 800 ships are thought to lie at the bottom of the Gulf of Cádiz.

Three Spanish navy vessels, including two minesweepers, and 100 navy personnel are devoting two months to the project, which will end in mid-November.

Spain's navy said it had recovered evidence from potential wreck sites which was being analysed by archeologists. It said the sites could contain anything from crashed aircraft to ancient settlements.

The Naval Museum in Madrid and the National Subaquatic Archaeology Museum in Cartagena will receive much of the material recovered from the seabed.

Spain is in the middle of a legal battle with marine exploration firm Odyssey over treasure the US company has recovered from the seabed. It wants to avoid a repeat of the saga that began in 2007 when Odyssey salvaged an estimated $500m (£314m) in silver coins and artefacts from what Spain claims was a Spanish galleon. The treasure was landed at Gibraltar and then flown out to the United States.

A US court ruled last year that the find belongs to Spain, but Odyssey appealed and still has the treasure. It was due to submit its appeal at a US court today.

Odyssey has also mapped sections of the English Channel seabed. It signed an agreement with the British government in 2002 to explore the wreck of the HMS Sussex, a ship which went down somewhere off Cádiz in 1694.

In 2008 it filed claims on two wreck sites off the coast of County Kerry in Ireland. Last year it reached agreement with Britain to salvage artefacts from HMS Victory, which went down in the Channel in 1744

Marine Exploration Will Return to Solo Dios Gloria shipwreck

Marine Exploration Announces Recent Return to Treasure-Laden Solo Dios Gloria Shipwreck

Read more:
Marine Exploration, Inc. (OTCBB: MEXP), and its Joint Venture Partner Hispaniola Ventures, LLC, announces their treasure hunting ship RV Hispaniola has recently left port returning to the site of the shipwrecked Spanish galleon Solo Dios Gloria. One of the world’s greatest divers, Burt D. Webber Jr., leads the crew as it seeks the sunken trove of gold, silver and jewels rumored to be on the Solo Dios Gloria. Shareholders and investors can expect the Company to issue near term updates and results from the ongoing salvage operations.

An early 18th Century Spanish galleon, the Solo Dios Gloria sank off the north coast of the Dominican Republic. In late December 2009, the Dominican Republic confirmed Marine Exploration’s discovery of artifacts from the ship. The 300-plus items included silver coins, jewels, gold jewelry with pearls, a solid gold ring with diamonds, two hand-held bronze cannons, numerous pistols and cannons, guild pewter plates, navigation compasses, plumb lines for measuring depth, a pistol, sword sheaths, ornaments, plates, silverware, sword handles, a device to measure the ship's speed, bronze candlesticks, and a previously discovered bell from 1693 with the phrase 'Soli Deo Gloria'.

Mark Goldberg, CEO, Marine Exploration states, “The quest continues. Renowned treasure hunter Burt Webber knows well the Dominican Republic waters and has cutting-edge technology aboard the RV Hispaniola. We believe Burt and crew are at the right place at the right time.”

For detailed information about Marine Exploration visit http://www.mexp.biz

http://twitter.com/marinemexp

About Marine Exploration

Marine Exploration, Inc. and joint venture partner Hispaniola Ventures, LLC, headed by Burt D. Webber Jr., plan to continue the shipwreck site survey and salvage and anticipate locating and recovering additional historic shipwrecks with valuable artifacts and treasure. Working under exclusive contract with the Dominican Republic, the Company has plans in place to pursue multiple notable shipwrecks in Dominican Republic territorial and jurisdictional waters.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results. http://www.mexp.biz



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/14/2312963/marine-exploration-announces-recent.html#ixzz12ihKdbe7

Missing (and Valuable) Painting Found in Paris

Missing (and Valuable) Painting Found in Paris

In Paris, an apartment sat locked up and untouched for 70 years. But it wasn't abandoned or empty. The rent was being paid, and the swanky pad was filled with furniture, books, and various works of art. One of those paintings, it turns out, was worth a lot of money.

A very buzzy story from the U.K.'s Telegraph explains that the valuable work of art is by Italian artist Giovanni Boldini. It recently sold for €2.1 million (around US$2.9 million) at auction. The painting's subject, "a woman in a pink muslin evening dress," was apparently Boldini's muse, Marthe de Florian. That hunch was legitimized by another titillating discovery in the apartment: a scribbled love note from the artist to de Florian. The apartment belonged to de Florian's granddaughter, who recently passed away at age 91.

One might well ask, "Why leave an apartment untouched and unused, but still pay for it every month?" Good question. According to the Telegraph, the granddaughter left the apartment just before the start of World War II and never returned. After her recent death, experts were sent to catalogue the inventory.

As the Telegraph writes, "Entering the untouched, cobweb-filled flat in Paris' 9th arrondissement, one expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900." Imagine their surprise when they saw, lying among the items, a painting worth millions.

News of the discovery sent Web searches on "giovanni boldini" skyrocketing 2,800% in just over 24 hours. Suddenly, it seems, people are eager to know more about the artist. Perhaps they want to compare his work to a few paintings gathering dust in their basements. Could one be worth big money? Hope springs eternal, but before you get too excited, remember that Boldini never dabbled in the subject of dogs playing poker. Sorry.

Yahoo News: Rare pink diamond could fetch $38M at auction

Rare pink diamond could fetch $38M at auction

GENEVA – A rare pink diamond that goes on sale next month could fetch up to $38 million, according to auctioneers Sotheby's. The "fancy intense pink" 24.78 carat gem is being sold by an unidentified private collector, the auction house said.

"We're able to say it's been in the possession of the same owner for 60 years but beyond that we're not able to reveal more," Sotheby's spokesman Matthew Weigman said Tuesday.

The diamond was last sold by New York jeweler Harry Winston and has a classic emerald cut with gently rounded corners, the company said.

The stone has a flaw unnoticeable to the naked eye, probably due to wear, but may be graded internally flawless after re-polishing.

"It is sensational as it is, but if somebody would repolish it they would have an even more sensational stone," said Daniela Mascetti, a senior director in the company's jewelry department. "But I personally would not touch the stone if I was planning to wear it."

The diamond went on exhibition worldwide starting in Hong Kong on Oct. 2 and will go up for auction Nov. 16 in Geneva, when Sotheby's estimates it could sell for $27-38 million.

The Daily Star: CPA moves to recover 20 sunken ships

CPA moves to recover 20 sunken ships
Chittagong Port Authority has moved to recover 20 sunken ships from the Karnaphuli river and the outer anchorage of the Bay of Bengal.

The recovery work on 10 ships has started, and the CPA will appoint contractors next month to retrieve the rest.

Nine ships under the water in the outer anchorage of the Bay of Bengal may increase the risk of accidents for ships heading for the port, although the authorities claim that it will not create any problem in any channel.

According to CPA statistics, 61 ships went down between the Liberation War and 2009 in an area from the outer anchorage to Kalurghat Bridge of the Karnaphuli. In the outer anchorage, the total number of sunken ships is 22, and the rest are in the various points of the river.

Among the 22 ships in the outer anchorage, only seven ships have so far been recovered and six others are under the process of recovery.

Most of these ships are 700 gross registered tonnages (GRT) to 1,500 GRT in size and are treated as small to medium ships.

The authorities also said the eradication of submerged ships from the Alpha anchorage area would ensure safe movement of ships in the outer anchorage.

Around 500 coasters and small ships ply across the Karnaphuli everyday carrying various commodities and industrial products.

A port official said the situation is still under control but the increased movement of ships may endanger the port in future.

The authorities now plan to introduce a vessel traffic management system to navigate and guide these coasters and small ships in the river and sea.

Abu Taleb, a retired naval master chief, said some traditional ways are used in recovering the sunken ships. “Modern technology and equipment are required to make the recovery efficient,” he added.

There are some companies such as PSP Marine Services, Al-Moudud, Hazi Taz Mohammad & Company and Heramon Salvage that do the works of recovering the ship wreckages.

Captain KM Hafizur Rahman, proprietor of PSP Marine Services, said: “We have the capacity to recover a ship of maximum 6,000 GRT and the method of the recovery depends on the condition of the sunken ship.”

This blog resumes Sunday

Apologies to my readers for a lack of updates this last week. I'm driving my mother to Burleson, Texas and she is old, deaf, and mobility impaired. So it's been work. I simply haven't had the time to update here, and when I have had the time, haven't had the energy.

I was planning to get all caught up today...stopped early on purpose just to do so..but the hotel room was the hotel room from hell, which I didn't realize until we'd already got unpacked. Despite the problems - no TV, no internet, running toilet, loud refrigerator (neither of which my mom could hear, of course) my mom didn't want to move.

Finally, at 7.17 pm Central time I'm able to access the internet, but I'm too mentally exhausted to do anything except complain about how exhausted I am.

So this blog will return to form - and have new features - on this comng Sunday, when we will have arrived in Burleson and I can work all day long.

Thanks for understanding!

Exploding scuba tank kills two tourists

Daily Telegraph: Exploding scuba tank kills two tourists

AN exploding scuba diving tank killed two Polish tourists and seriously injured two others overnight on a Croatian island, officials said.

The first victim on the southern island of Vis was a 48-year-old Polish woman who died on the spot, a police spokeswoman said.

"The diving tank exploded while it was being unloaded from a boat on the coast in the port of Komiza," the transport and sea ministry said.

The cause of the blast was most likely a valve that popped out, it said.

Three other injured tourists - two men and a woman - were immediately transported to a hospital in the coastal town of Split on the mainland.

One of them, a 43-year-old man who sustained a head injury, died in the hospital overnight, its surgical department said.

The victims were in a group of 12 Polish tourists who arrived in Komiza to go scuba diving, the ministry said.