Agoracom

  Tampa, FL - March 12, 2008 - Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX) today announced that United States Magistrate Judge, Mark Pizzo, has issued orders in three pending Admiralty cases that the Company believes will help to expeditiously move these cases forward. Two of the orders were in response to Spain's Motions to Compel Compliance and to Declare Certain Materials as Not Confidential.

In these orders, the Judge ruled that the artifact summaries provided to Spain with photographs are not confidential, but that in the interest of protecting the site, other information including the preliminary site assessments, the site plans, the photographs of the sea bed and the photomosaics should remain confidential at this time.

The Court also clarified its January 10, 2008 order and indicated that Odyssey need not provide Spain with open access to Odyssey's research files at this stage of the litigation and that the information Odyssey has provided to Spain thus far is sufficient.

"We are extremely pleased with Magistrate Pizzo's recent order which will move the cases forward and help protect the sites by keeping site information confidential at this time,"; stated Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey General Counsel. "We believe that we have always acted in accordance with the Court's directives and we are glad that the Court has issued confirmation that we have complied with the Court's Disclosure order."

The Judge also issued interrogatories regarding possible theories as to the identity of any vessels which may be related to the sites. After receiving Odyssey's responses, Spain has 10 days to describe evidence that supports its claim to the vessel or artifacts.

Odyssey has previously avoided discussing speculative theories regarding the identity of the shipwreck sites because the analysis of the data available to the company did not, in the opinion of Odyssey's management and lawyers, rise to the level of certainty sufficient to meet the requirements of public disclosure pursuant to securities regulations. It is also clear that speculating about the identity of the sites at this stage would be inappropriate pursuant to nautical archaeological best-practices in the evaluation of complex underwater sites.

"We are pleased to provide Spain with possible theories about the possible identity of the sites under the protection of this Court order although, as we have stated on previous occasions, there is insufficient evidence at this time to confirm the identity of the sites," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey Chairman and CEO. "We look forward to resolving whether Spain believes it has a claim - and a justification for that claim - on any of the sites within 10 days of providing them with this information."

The third order issued by Magistrate Pizzo today requires Spain to provide a basis for a claim, if any, against the shipwreck believed to be SS Ancona within 30 days.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration. Inc.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX) is engaged in the archaeologically sensitive exploration and recovery of shipwrecks and uses innovative methods and state-of-the-art technology to conduct extensive search and archaeological recovery operations around the world. Odyssey discovered the Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep. In May 2007, the Company announced the largest historic deep-ocean treasure recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins, weighing 17 tons, from a Colonial era site code-named "Black Swan. " Most recently, Odyssey was named sole custodian for a shipwreck site code-named "Firefly" off the coast of North Carolina. In addition, Odyssey has several shipwreck projects in various stages of development around the world.

Odyssey offers various ways to share in the excitement of deep-ocean exploration by making shipwreck treasures and artifacts available to collectors, the general public and students through its webstore, exhibits, books, videos, merchandise, and educational programs. Odyssey's "SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure" exhibit recently ended its successful seven month engagement at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry and is scheduled to re-open at the Detroit Science Center on March 24, 2008. For details on the Company's activities and its commitment to the preservation of maritime heritage please visit www.shipwreck.net.