Proof of Identity

In the first place, Spain based its defence of this case on proving that the identity of the ship plundered by Odyssey was the frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and, secondly, on further demonstrating that it was a Spanish Navy ship.

To this effect it delivered, in September 2008, to the Court of Tampa (Florida), exceptionally exhaustive documentation from different Spanish archives, in particular from the Archive of the Indies, the Álvaro de Bazán General Navy Archive and from the Naval Museum, together with historical documents and photographs that supported Spain's position against Odyssey.

It included statements by experts from various fields – from historians specialising in naval history and culture, in numismatics, in underwater archaeology – as well as by representatives of the then Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Defence of Spain.