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(Update) Odyssey Marine v. Spain: Gibraltar Under Pressure

Gibfocus.gi continues to provide first hand coverage of the Odyssey Marine showdown with Spain, a conflict in which Gibraltar (where Odyssey Marine has two vessels in port) finds itself increasingly embroiled.

As a Spanish warship ingresses daily into sovereign Gibraltar waters and an unidentified warplane allegedly buzzes the Rock, a window for foreigners has opened upon internal Gibraltar politics.

Only July 9, Gibraltar’s opposition alliance (Gib. Socialist Labor Party and Gib. Liberal Party) issued a stern rebuke of Spain’s attitude and actions, accusing Spain of stalling Tripartite Forum (UK, Gib, Spain) talks over the Odyssey Marine issue. The government (Gib. Social Democrats) today rebuffed the opposition’s stance, claiming that Spain had not sought to place the issue on the Tripartite agenda and taking a generally softer tone. To someone with no prior knowledge of Gibraltar politics, it is immediately clear that the opposition makes its hay being “tough on Spain” while the government approach shades more toward conciliation. A quick check of wikipedia confirmed these inferences.

There are some rather humorous goings-on reported concerning the warrant supposedly issued for the seizure and search of the Odyssey Marine vessels:

Attempts to obtain the official documents have resulted in few details being revealed. Whilst Spanish officials continue to claim that an order from the courts and an investigations does exist, few details have as yet been made public, raising serious concerns over the true extend of the official order, and whether it actually exists.

It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?

B