Treasure boat cleared to leave Spanish port

A boat caught up in a court battle over sunken treasure has been cleared to leave a Spanish port.

The Ocean Alert was seized by the Civil Guard on Thursday about three miles off Algeciras in south-eastern Spain.

A Spanish judge instructed police to seize two vessels last month belonging to Odyssey Marine Exploration if they left the British colony of Gibraltar and entered Spanish waters.

Odyssey, a Tampa, Florida-based treasure hunting company, said it found a colonial-era shipwreck in May and the coins had been flown to the United States.

Spain filed claims in a US federal court over Odyssey’s find. The country argued that if the shipwrecked vessel was Spanish or was removed from its waters, the treasure belonged to Spain.

Odyssey insists the shipwreck was outside any country’s territorial waters, but has not given its exact location or the ship’s name.