Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.'s survey vessel, the Ocean Alert, was cleared for departure by the Spanish Guardia Civil on Saturday, July 14; however, because of a need to replace required paperwork that was removed from the ship's bridge during the inspection and a holiday that found authorities unavailable to provide documentation required for departure, the ship has not yet departed. The ship had been detained in the Spanish port of Algeciras since Thursday, July 12, 2007, undergoing a thorough inspection by the Guardia Civil.
The search and detention was apparently conducted as a result of a court order to look for evidence that Odyssey's recent "Black Swan" discovery was made in Spanish waters, in spite of the fact that the Spanish Ministry of Culture has stated publicly that they are now satisfied that artifacts from the "Black Swan" were not recovered from Spanish waters. Odyssey has repeatedly stated that the "Black Swan" recovery was conducted in the Atlantic Ocean outside of any country's territorial waters or contiguous zone. The Company has also stated that the site has not been conclusively identified and once it is identified, Odyssey will notify any potential claimants.