Spains seizes treasure ship

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On Tuesday, patrol boats from Spain's maritime police intercepted the 76m Odyssey Explorer, owned by underwater salvage firm Odyssey Marine International, three miles off the coast of Gibraltar. It was ordered to the Spanish port of Algeciras for inspection.

Spain's Guardia Civil has been keeping a close eye on the company's vessel since a Spanish judge ordered that it be detained and searched if it left port in Gibraltar.

The company says its recovery vessel has been effectively blockaded since the ruling in June. Spain believes it could provide clues to the identity and location of the wreck that yielded half-a-million colonial era silver and gold coins.

It suspects that a Spanish galleon is being secretly plundered - or that the wreck lies in Spanish waters.

Odyssey Marine Explorations - which became the most famous deep water treasure hunting company when it announced the discovery last May - says it is keeping the location of the wreck secret, to protect the site from looters.

All it is saying is that the wreck - codenamed Black Swan - is somewhere in the Atlantic.

And in Spain, Odyssey's activities have been painted as modern-day piracy.

That's funny. I wonder how the Aztecs and Incas thought of their gold being stolen from them centuries ago and taken on this and other ships. As well as their land, cities, and nations being destroyed so the Spaniards could claim the land. Oh and then there's the little thing of massacring the natives.