Odyssey said Thursday that evidence may point to the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes y las Animas, a Spanish ship that sank near Gibraltar in 1804. The disclosure — filed under seal in Tampa federal court this week but subsequently unsealed by Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo — should have little impact on the protracted legal battle between Odyssey and the government of Spain as to who owns the vessel's treasure.
But it could play havoc with the company's stock price as investors and news reporters around the globe speculate on how the court battle plays out.
The Mercedes wasn't the only wreck Odyssey tentatively identified Thursday. The company said it believes a ship it found near the English Channel in 2006 may be the Merchant Royal, a British merchant vessel that sank in 1641.
The ruling means Odyssey must now testify in open court on its theories about the identity of the two sunken vessels. Company officials had long argued that secrecy was paramount: shareholders might sue if Odyssey's speculations about identity proved wrong, and pirates might try to pillage the wreck sites for their own profit.