By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A US attorney who represents Spain in its claims to underwater treasure and artifacts yesterday urged The Bahamas to demystify what has been recovered from its waters and how much it has earned from such activities.

James Goold, an attorney with Washington D.C based law firm, Covington & Burling, told Tribune Business it is always a “suspicious circumstance” when none of the recovered assets are displayed publicly after explorers and salvors claim they have been discovered.

Allen Exploration, whose principal is US multi-millionaire, Carl Allen, also, the Walker’s Cay owner, has been seeking to retrieve valuable artifacts from the the sunken Spanish treasure galleon, the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas.

Some have described this vessel as “the most valuable shipwreck in the Western Hemisphere”. And a March 8, 2021, video clip records Mr Allen saying his company is already recovering “gems” and “pendants” from the ocean floor, although he does not give the precise location.

He said: “I have been looking most of my life for a ship called Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas, otherwise known as Our Lady of Wonder, and I do believe we’re on the debris field floor that’s the stern castle because of these gems that we’re finding and these pendants that we’re finding.”

However, the Bahamian public presently knows nothing about what has been recovered to-date or its value - both from a monetary and historical/cultural perspective. Mr Allen, though, as stipulated by his agreement with the Bahamian government, has been working to set up a Grand Bahama-based museum where the artifacts recovered from his underwater exploration will eventually be put on public display.

The Government’s Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC) is understood to be working with Allen Exploration to document, assess and value what has been recovered from the latter’s exploration efforts, although no details have yet been disclosed.

Dr Michael Pateman, former AMMC archaeologist, who is curator for the AEX (Allen Exploration) Bahamas Maritime Museum, said yesterday: “I don’t want to preempt the announcement of the opening of the museum, but the museum is going to be opening soon. I work for Allen Exploration, so yes, I have seen the artifacts they have found.”

David Concannon, Allen Exploration’s spokesperson, said the explorer is currently drafting a press release on the issue but did not specify when this will be issued. Allen Exploration was initially granted an underwater exploration licence by the former Minnis administration, and this was subsequently extended by the Davis administration. The gross proceeds from any discovery, in terms of their value, are to be split 75/25 in favour of the explorer.

But, leaving Allen Exploration’s activities aside, it is unclear just what financial benefits The Bahamas has derived from decades of permitting underwater exploration within its territorial boundaries. While many wreck sites have been plundered and looted by rogue, unauthorised salvors, there have been several efforts that were permitted.

The Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas was transporting gold, silver and other riches plundered from Spain’s Latin American colonies back to the homeland when it sank on January 4, 1656, near Little Bahama Bank off Grand Bahama after being rammed by one of the other vessels in its nine-strong fleet as they sought to avoid shallow water.

The site, said to have been lying under 30 to 50 feet of shifting sand, was eventually located in 1972 by treasure hunter Richard Marx but his exploration efforts were cut short following a falling-out with the then-Bahamian government.

Subsequently, the Washington Post reported in 1986 that a Memphis businessman with an interest in wreck salvaging, Herbert Humphreys, had located the wreck and begun to recover artifacts. The value of its cargo was pegged at $1.6bn by the article, which said several million dollars’ worth of gems - including a 49.5 carat emerald worth $1m - had already been recovered.

Humphreys’ work was said to have had the blessing of the then-Bahamian government, which received 25 percent of the value of whatever was recovered - a sum consistent with current law. It is unclear when his salvaging stopped, though, or if the Bahamian people received any of the promised 25 percent.

Reece Chipman, former AMMC chairman, told Tribune Business he has “never laid eyes on any sunken treasure” and is just as curious about its potential whereabouts as any other Bahamian.

Richenda King, who succeeded Mr Chipman as AMMC chair, said: “I am not at liberty to discuss anything relative to that because my tenure has now been completed.” And Rosel Moxey, current AMMC chairman, said she has “no comment” on the matter and that “when the AMMC is ready to comment, we will advise”.

Raymond King, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force commodore, said that while it “provides divers for the search” by Allen Exploration, all items recovered are handed directly to the AMMC.

But Mr Goold, Spain’s legal representative, said: “If this work is being done for public benefit or to bring to light and share historical heritage of The Bahamas and Spain, then why hasn’t anything been revealed about this and why is there so much mystery? We have seen this kind of activity in the past all too often, and what’s particularly common is that it turns out that it’s about attracting money and bait for investors.

“I participated in discussions with a representative of The Bahamas’ government several years ago, and one thing that I learned was that virtually nothing has been received by the Government over the history of the 75/25 split. There has been virtually nothing that can be displayed. It’s not surprising because with treasure hunters it’s always been about getting rich quick.”

Mr Goold also insisted that the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention on underwater cultural heritage would have primacy over Bahamian law. Several Caribbean countries have signed this convention, but not The Bahamas.

Ryan Pinder, the attorney general, yesterday said a potential legal battle over the sunken treasure with Spain is “not on his radar” and he has not received any claims.