Spain has formally laid claim to a haul of half a million gold and silver coins raised from a shipwreck by the American treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration. The wreck was discovered last year in the North Atlantic. This report from Steve Kingstone:

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Except, the Mercedes' precious cargo has already been removed. More than half a million gold and silver coins were raised from the wreck by Odyssey Marine Exploration, the NASDAC registered company which located the ship. Weighing seventeen tonnes, the haul was brought ashore in Gibraltar and promptly flown to Florida, where the company is based.

Odyssey Marine Exploration did keep the identity and location of the ship secret for many months - although last month the company publicly acknowledged that the wreck was "possibly" the Mercedes. Odyssey insists it's broken no laws, and suggests the Spanish government had, in effect, already abandoned the ship to its fate.

The coins and other artefacts, whose combined value has been estimated at half a billion dollars, are said by the company to be at a "secure location." A judge in Miami will eventually rule on the rightful ownership of this valuable slice of naval history.

Steve Kingstone, BBC News, Madrid

Listen to the words

vessel
a generic word for any ship or large boat

Except
here, 'only there is a problem, which is that ...'

precious cargo
valuable goods ('cargo' means 'goods carried by a large vehicle, aircraft or vessel')

haul
a usually large amount of something stolen/taken illegally

broken no laws
done nothing illegal/against the law

abandoned the ship to its fate
lost interest in the ship, left it to rot at the bottom of the sea

artefacts
objects made by humans, e.g. tools or ornaments, that have historical or cultural interest

combined value has been estimated at
(experts say that) the price of all the coins and artefacts found on the ship is around

rule on the rightful ownership
decide who is the legal owner

slice
here, part

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