Admiralty Holding (fka ADMH)

[RIGATONI]

This is interesting to me...

A homeport in Panama?????????? coincidence?

Admiralty Corporation (Admiralty), announced today that its ship, the New World Legacy, has sailed into Christobal, Panama to release crew members that must return home. The Corazon Grande sailed to Honduras. Christobal will be our homeport during recovery operations

Did a little searching, Panama waters are loaded with gold from old shipwrecks.....Maybe RUBM can strike a deal.Read on...

http://www.treasure-hunter.org/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=100

Modern-Day Pirates Plunder Spanish-Era Shipwrecks
Posted on Thursday, June 06 @ 08:35:29 CEST by brother-t


Today, following the discovery of several Spanish Conquest-era shipwrecks off Panama's Pacific and Caribbean coasts, treasure hunters are back.

This time they don't sport pirate's hooks or carry parrots on their shoulders. Instead they pose as salvagers of modern-day ships to loot the ancient vessels, Panama's government says.

More than 30 Spanish Conquest-era galleons laden with treasure worth hundreds of millions of dollars are scattered along Panama's seabeds, according to Panama's National Culture Institute.

Three wrecks with treasure have been located so far.

But seven search and recovery vessels registered in Panama and owned by U.S. companies are plundering the wrecks, Rafael Ruiloba, Panama's de facto culture minister, told Reuters in an interview.

Ruiloba, who heads the national culture institute, said the ships, fitted with marine survey and metal detection equipment, can enter Panamanian waters because they get permission from the Finance Ministry to recover modern ships such as tankers.

The companies then steal from the galleons, which are Panamanian property by law.

"We know about the exact location of the wrecks because salvage companies find them first," said Ruiloba.

PRICELESS GOLD
During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Panama served as a vital point for gold and silver shipments between the mines of Peru and imperial Spain.

But many galleons floundered in the choppy waters of the Pacific before booty could be unloaded in Panama City and taken to ports in the Caribbean. Ships leaving the Caribbean ports for Spain were often attacked by pirates.

"The many wrecks mean Panama is sitting on a great museum of the maritime archeological world. But it is at great risk," said Ruiloba.

Coral-encrusted pistols and silver bracelets taken from the ships are being hawked to tourists for around $100 in Panama's beach resorts, Ruiloba said, holding up a photo of artifacts on display in shops taken by a hidden camera.

"These items shouldn't be for sale. They are priceless and part of the world's heritage. If they were auctioned they would fetch $15,000 each," said Ruiloba.

Interest in Spanish wrecks grew after vacationers diving off Panama's Caribbean coast in November chanced across the hull of the Vizcaina ship, part of the fleet used by Christopher Columbus on his final voyage to the Americas in 1501.

Earlier this year a salvage company located the San Jose galleon in Panama's Pearl Islands in the Pacific, 60 miles (100 km) south of Panama City. The San Jose, which sank in 1631, is filled with 700 tons of gold and silver ingots valued at some $50 million.

Remains of an English pirate ship thought to be commanded by buccaneer Henry Morgan in the early 17th century have also been found in recent months.

Ruiloba said a Florida-based salvage company, which found the San Jose, has already plucked silver coins and ceramic shards from the wreck and refused to hand them over to Panamanian authorities.

Bona fide U.S. historical shipwreck company Admiralty Corp., which plans to retrieve artifacts from wrecks off Jamaica's coasts later this year, said it was aware of boats pillaging Panama's riches.

"It's a complex and expensive process to negotiate permits with governments to salvage treasures and some shippers are just going ahead illegally," said Herbert C. Leeming, chairman and CEO of Admiralty.
MEAGER FUNDS STALL RECOVERIES
A lack of money at the culture institute is the main reason for the precarious nature of Panama's oceanic archeological inheritance. The institute is run on a yearly budget of around $8 million. Ruiloba said more than double that sum is needed every year.

"We don't have a laboratory to study what we find. We don't have means to patrol and catch people robbing the ships. We don't even have a museum to place the objects we have retrieved," said Ruiloba.

The Spanish government and the United Nations have offered assistance, he said, and media organizations such as the BBC and National Geographic Magazine have expressed interest in buying the reporting rights to the Vizcaina's retrieval. But no concrete aid has been forthcoming and nothing has yet been put in writing, Ruiloba said.

While Panama cannot afford to pay for ship salvage, gold bullion aboard the ships could be used to pay the companies that are recovering the wrecks, Ruiloba said.

"Some of treasures are not historically distinctive and could subsidize some operations," he adds.

Ruiloba said the irony for Panama is that despite a huge drive to promote tourism, the country may be unable to protect or develop one of its genuine historical marvels.


~Rig