Nearly 300 years after the pirate Blackbeard's boat sank off the North Carolina coast, a shipwreck-hunting company and the state are battling over treasure linked to the vessel - but they're fighting with writs, not cutlasses, and the treasure is US$14 million in disputed revenue and contract violations.
The Florida-based company, Intersal, found little loot when it discovered the Queen Anne's Revenge almost 20 years ago, but it eventually gained a contract for rights to photos and videos of the wreck and of the recovery, study and preservation of its artefacts.
The state, meanwhile, has created a tourist industry around Blackbeard and his ship since the vessel's discovery in 1996. That includes exhibits at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, which attracts about 300,000 visitors a year, according to the Queen Anne's Revenge website. The artefacts, such as a 900kg cannon, also go on tour to other state museums. The state also posts photos and videos on websites and social media.
Intersal says the state is violating the contract by displaying media of artefacts on websites other than its own without a time code stamp or watermark.
In its petition in the state Office of Administrative Hearings, it seeks US$7 million for the alleged misuse and US$7 million in lost revenue from the state Department of Cultural Resources.
"The actual ship itself, which is the treasure that remains, is now in contention," said John Masters, chairman of the board of Intersal. "We found a little bit of treasure - gold dust, silver - but the real treasure is the ship itself."
A spokeswoman for the state agency declined to comment. In its response to the petition, the state denies Intersal's allegations. A spokeswoman said on Tuesday the state plans to file a motion to dismiss the petition on jurisdictional grounds.