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Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is an American company engaged in the salvage of deep-water shipwrecks. Odyssey salvaged the U.S. Civil War era shipwreck of the SS ''Republic'' in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep. Odyssey has several shipwreck projects in various stages of development around the world, including the codenamed Black Swan Project.〔(Shipwreck yields historic riches -- $500M worth ) - CNN, May 19, 2007〕〔(Record wreck 'found off Cornwall' ) - BBC News, May 19, 2007〕 == HMS ''Sussex'' == Between 1998 and 2001, Odyssey Marine Exploration searched for HMS ''Sussex'' and now believes that it has located the shipwreck off Gibraltar at a depth of 821 metres. The ship sank in a storm in 1694 during the War of the Grand Alliance as it was transporting 10 tons of gold coins to buy the allegiance of the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, against France. In September 2002,〔(HMS Sussex Project Overview )〕 Odyssey reached an agreement with the British government on a formula for sharing any potential spoils, under which Odyssey would get 80 percent of the proceeds up to $45 million, 50 percent from $45 million to $500 million and 40 percent above $500 million. The British government would get the rest. The company was poised to start the excavation in the late summer of 2003,〔(Sussex Project Moves Ahead ), May 30, 2003〕 according to the approved project plan and engaged Gifford and Partners to assist with archaeological aspects,〔(Odyssey Engages Gifford and Partners for Deep Ocean Archaeological Excavation ), August 11, 2003〕 but the project was delayed when Odyssey discovered and began excavating the SS ''Republic''〔(Odyssey Discovers Sidewheel Steamship ), August 18, 2003〕 which continued until early 2003.〔(Odyssey Concludes Atlantic Operations and Moves to Mediterranean )〕 The ''Sussex'' agreement was criticized by some archaeological organizations and charities, including the Council for British Archaeology, Rescue, and the Institute of Field Archaeologists, denouncing it as a dangerous precedent for the "ransacking" of shipwrecks by private firms under the aegis of archaeological research.〔(HMS Sussex ) - Rescue, May 20, 2007〕〔(HMS Sussex ) - CBA, May 20, 2007〕 An early day motion was signed by 60 British MPs condemning the treasure hunting.〔 In December 2005 Odyssey began archaeological investigation of the site believed to be HMS ''Sussex''. The company adhered to the stringent project plan submitted and accepted by the Sussex Archaeological Executive, a committee of archaeological consultants approved by the UK Government. To date, Odyssey has completed Phase 1A (the non-disturbance survey) and a substantial portion of Phase 1B (trial excavation of the site believed to be HMS ''Sussex'') to the satisfaction of the UK Government. Odyssey is authorized by HMG to complete phase 1B of the project.〔(The HMS Sussex Shipwreck Project (Site E-82) Preliminary Report - Odyssey Paper 1 )〕 Before Odyssey could complete Phase 1B of the ''Sussex'' project plan, it was stopped by the Spanish authorities, in particular the Junta of Andalusia in January 2006.〔(Odyssey Marine Provides Sussex Update ), August 18, 2003〕 In early June 2006, Odyssey provided clarification on all points to the Kingdom of Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the offices of the embassy of the United Kingdom. Odyssey is awaiting final comments on the plan before resuming operations on the shipwreck believed to be that of the ''Sussex''. In March 2007, Andalusia gave its assent for the excavation to start with the condition that Spanish archeologists take part in order to ascertain that the shipwreck to be excavated is indeed the ''Sussex'' and not a Spanish galleon.〔(En busca del tesoro del 'HMS Sussex' ) (Spanish) ELPAIS.com, 24 March 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-20〕 While waiting for Andalusia to appoint an archaeologist to participate in the ''Sussex'' expedition, the company began operations on the "Black Swan" salvage and since then, Spain has rescinded all cooperation with the company. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Odyssey Marine Exploration」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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