Row over the £2.6bn of gold coins lost at sea
- From: alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Alan)
- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:05 +0000 (GMT Standard Time)
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/55151.html
A diplomatic stand-off between Britain and Spain has been triggered by salvage
attempts on a shipwreck and the richest haul of sunken treasure in maritime
history. The remains of HMS Sussex, an 80-gun warship which sank in a storm off
the Straits of Gibraltar in 1694, lie almost half a mile down in what Madrid
says are its sovereign waters and which London prefers to think of as the high
seas. Normally, such a wreck would attract little interest other than from
historians and archaeologists. But when the Sussex went down with the loss of
all but two of its 500-man crew, it was carrying the equivalent of nine tonnes
of gold coins, worth £2.6bn at today's prices. The money was to be paid to the
Duke of Savoy to buy his wavering loyalty as the Navy tried to limit expanding
French military and commercial activities in the Mediterranean.
The decomposing hull was first located in 1998, but only identified in 2002.
Spain immediately claimed it because it lies within its territorial waters.
Britain's case, meanwhile, is based on original ownership of the vessel, saying
it lies under "the high seas". The autonomous Spanish region of Andalusia has
now complicated the issue by staking its own claim. The UK had already hired
Odyssey Marine Exploration, of Florida, to recover the ship. Odyssey anchored a
recovery ship over the wreck site last month and began to conduct a survey of
it.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/55151.html
Oh dear, life is so stressful for Mr Blair. I wonder if he now declares war on
Spain? This could be fun.
Lord Cerne Abbas
To rebel is right, to disobey is a duty, to act is necessary !
http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk/identity.html
http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk/mylinks.html
http://lordcerneabbas.blogspot.com/
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