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U.S. Treasure Hunter Freed in Spain Spat
Follow-up.
MADRID, Spain - The captain of a treasure-hunting ship intercepted in a dispute over a $500 million undersea find was released Wednesday after being held overnight for questioning in a southern Spanish port city, his company said.

Sterling Vorus was detained after his ship, the Odyssey Explorer, was seized Tuesday as it sailed into Spanish waters from the British colony of Gibraltar off Spain's southern tip, police said. Spain's Civil Guard held Vorus overnight in the port city of Algeciras after Vorus refused to let officers board his ship, Odyssey Marine Exploration co-chairman Greg Stemm said in Florida. Police searched the vessel on Wednesday, he said.
I'd imagine the OME people knew this was going to happen and made sure the ship was squeeky clean.
Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina said the government views Odyssey as modern-day pirates. "There have always been navies, laws and the rule of law to help combat pirates," Molina told reporters.

Odyssey has insisted the shipwreck -- codenamed "Black Swan" -- was in international waters, but has not given the exact location or the ship's name. Stemm insisted that Odyssey's activities are legitimate and transparent. "This whole thing is so crazy," he said. He refused to comment on news reports saying Odyssey removed high-tech equipment from the Explorer before Spanish investigators boarded the ship.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-10-18
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=202869