The intrigue is supported by the fact that Odyssey Marine Exploration is keeping the details of its expedition secret, apparently fearing that competitors and merely curious people will flock to the shipwreck site. And, according to the company, there is still some quantity of valuable items left underwater. The firm did not even voice a preliminary version of what kind of ship was investigated by divers. For now, the ship is referred to under the code name 'Black Swan' (possibly after the eponymous adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini, which tells of the heyday of piracy in the West Indies). Furthermore, by hiding details, the treasure hunters tried to avoid the emergence of 'wild assumptions' about the value of the find and the ownership rights to it. It didn't help: within a few days, two quite plausible ideas emerged about which sunken ship the valuable loot had been taken from.
In the British press, the version that Odyssey stumbled upon the remains of the hull of the 'Merchant Royal' is being actively discussed. This ship sank exactly in the area that was described in the most general terms by the treasure hunters when they registered rights to the found treasures in court. In 1641, the 'Merchant Royal' was sailing from Spain to Belgium with a large cargo of gold: this money was intended to finance the army of Philip IV. However, during a storm, the ship sank near the coast of England. And according to official statements by the treasure hunters, gold and silver coins were raised from a ship lying 40 miles from the southwestern tip of Great Britain.
The Spanish, however, suspect that it is even more mysterious and demand an investigation into the dark story of the treasure. The fact is that in March of this year, the company Odyssey received permission from local authorities to search for the English ship 'Sussex'. It sank in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar in 1694, when it was proceeding as part of a squadron to the Mediterranean Sea. There the English fleet was to fight the French. But the Spanish gave permission only to search for the 'Sussex'; raising anything from it to the surface was prohibited. The Americans began work, and just a day before the official announcement of the half-billion-dollar treasure find, a chartered Boeing landed in Gibraltar and soon flew off again, which could well have taken the precious cargo on board.
In Madrid, they considered that such coincidences do not happen. After all, Odyssey could have stumbled upon not only the 'Sussex' but also some other ship. According to the press secretary of the Spanish Minister of Culture, Susana Tello, about 400 ships have been wrecked in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar. She stated that if it turns out that the Americans found a Spanish ship, Madrid will undoubtedly assert its rights to the find. The Civil Guard's maritime patrol has been ordered to thoroughly check the activities of Odyssey Marine Exploration. But the American treasure hunters deny all the Spanish assumptions. They continue to insist that the treasures were discovered in the open sea and were completely legally transported to the United States.
Apparently, the dispute between Madrid and Odyssey Marine Exploration will continue and may soon even move to the courts. Meanwhile, this story has most interested the Walt Disney company: one of the co-owners of Odyssey, Greg Stemm, has already met with filmmakers and discussed the possibility of creating joint projects. For Walt Disney, the discovery of the treasure is 'just a lucky break', said company representative Cherise McVicar. The fact is that the sensation was announced literally a week before the premiere of the long-awaited third film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'. A better promotional move for the next sequel of Captain Jack Sparrow's adventures could not have been dreamed up. Even the Spanish claims work to the film's success, fueling audience interest with the scandal.