Odyssey Exploration Begins 2013 Gairsoppa Operations

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a company in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck and offshore mineral exploration, has begun 2013 operations on the SS Gairsoppa shipwreck site as scheduled. On May 22, the Odyssey team aboard Swire Seabed's Seabed Worker left port in Bergen, Norway. The team reached the Gairsoppa site and commenced operations on May 29, after several days awaiting the passage of an intense weather system.

In 2012, Odyssey recovered 1,218 silver ingots weighing approximately 1.4 million ounces from the Gairsoppa site. The company believes an additional 1,599 insured silver ingots and what could be a substantial amount of uninsured silver remains at the Gairsoppa site.

After completing silver recovery from the Gairsoppa, Odyssey plans to begin recovery operations at the SS Mantola shipwreck, which is believed to contain 600,000 ounces of silver. Recently obtained research indicates the likely location of the room where bullion would have been stored on the Mantola.

"Weather in the North Atlantic is now becoming more appropriate for operations and our 2013 recovery season on the Gairsoppa and Mantola has begun," said Mark Gordon, Odyssey's president and COO. "The team and equipment used last year aboard the Seabed Worker helped us successfully recover a record-breaking 48 tons of silver. This year we've added some very specific tools to our kit to maximize the efficiency of the expedition. The ship reports that all the equipment, including some new technology that was added over the winter, is working well and they have already made progress on the shipwreck."

www.odysseymarine.com