ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION INC

Overview

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. discovers, validates, and develops high-value seafloor mineral resources in an environmentally responsible manner, providing access to critical resources that can transform societies and economies for generations to come.

We have a diversified mineral portfolio that includes projects controlled by us and other projects in which we are a minority owner and service provider. In addition, our team is continually working to add new projects to the portfolio by identifying potential new assets through a proprietary “Global Prospectivity Program” leading to the acquisition of appropriate rights. Our development focus is on projects that can meet stringent standards for environmental responsibility and sustainability while unlocking benefits for the host country. Environmental protection remains at the forefront of the strategic and tactical decision-making processes in all our work.

Each project in the portfolio is advanced along a defined development path, decreasing risk and increasing value along the way. These steps may include, but are not limited to, verification and quantification of the mineral asset, collection of baseline environmental data essential for environmental permitting, environmental impact studies and reports, design and verification of extraction systems and definition and verification of commercial programs. Odyssey may elect to sell equity in individual projects to fund continued advancement of the project.

For nearly 30 years, we have deployed cutting-edge ocean technology and processes at depths up to 6,000 meters, under the direction of some of the industry’s most skilled and successful ocean exploration professionals, scientists, and environmental specialists.

Importance of Seabed Mineral Exploration

There is growing global demand for critical mineral resources to power the green economy, feed the world's growing population and provide vital infrastructure. Land based deposits of cobalt, manganese, rare earth minerals, phosphorite, gold, silver, copper and zinc are being depleted. As the worldwide population continues to grow, it is necessary to explore additional and alternative sources of these much-needed materials to meet increasing forecasted demand.

Climate change and the global transition to a lower carbon economy presents opportunities for Odyssey given the increased demand for raw materials for the future green economy, including those that are or will be required for renewable energy generation and storage. Furthermore, as the worldwide population continues to grow, it is necessary to explore additional and alternative sources of these much-needed materials.

Subsea mineral deposits can provide these critical resources with less social and environmental impact. We have the expertise and technology to find and access these deposits and to prepare the project for extraction in an economically feasible and environmentally sensitive way.

Benefits of Ocean Mineral Resource Development

Some of the benefits of ocean mineral resource development include:

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Infrastructure Expense: No site-specific infrastructure and generally low capital expenditures – ship-based extraction systems provide the ability to redeploy, repurpose or increase equipment productivity through cost/tonne or ship charter financing options.

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Overburden: Compared to terrestrial projects, overburden to be removed in most proposed seafloor mining projects is less, which contributes to operational efficiencies.

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Flexibility: Extraction ships can move to different types of deposits/minerals or projects to suit market conditions without infrastructure loss at minimal costs.

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Social Displacement: No people are displaced, no disruption of society or property.

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Environmental Impact: Seafloor mining can be done responsibly with limited biological impact and a manageable carbon footprint. No forested lands or freshwater systems are affected. Seafloor dredging, aggregate and diamond mining have been carried out for many years in shallow waters around the world and with appropriate mitigation programs have posed minimal adverse impact to marine ecosystems.

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Transshipment: Shipping logistics are efficient as ore and materials are extracted and moved directly to bulk carriers, lowering the number of steps in the delivery process thus reducing time and costs.

Considering the benefits of subsea mineral resource extraction, we are convinced that ocean mining will be the best practice for responsible provision of critical resources required worldwide. Odyssey is taking the lead in preparing for this future through the validation and development of environmentally and socially responsible seafloor mineral projects.

Mineral and Offshore Services

We provide specialized mineral exploration, project development and marine services to clients (subsidiary companies, other companies and/or governments). As our business is focused on the development of a diversified portfolio of subsea resources, we may elect to receive equity for the provision of our services on select mineral projects. We have an extensive history conducting deep-ocean projects down to 6,000 meters in depth, including deep-ocean resource explorations, ship and airplane wreck explorations, archaeological recovery and conservation and insurance documentation, and we apply this experience and expertise to advance our project portfolio.

Operational Projects and Status

We focus on projects that can meet stringent standards for environmental responsibility while unlocking benefits for the host community and country.

Our subsea project portfolio contains multiple projects in various stages of development throughout the world and across different mineral resources. We are regularly evaluating new projects through the development of new deposits, acquisition of mineral rights/deposits and through a leveraged contracting model, which allows the company to earn equity in deep-sea mineral projects.

With respect to mineral deposits, Subpart 1300 of Regulations S-K outlines the Securities and Exchange Commission's (“SEC”) basic mining disclosure policy and what information may be disclosed in public filings. See Item 2 Properties.

Although Odyssey has a variety of projects in various stages of development, only projects with material operational activity in the past 12 months are included below.

ExO Phosphate Project:

The “Exploraciones Oceánicas” Phosphate Project (“ExO Phosphate Project”) is a rich deposit of phosphate sands located 70-90 meters deep within Mexico's Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”). This deposit contains a large amount of high-grade phosphate ore that can be extracted on a financially attractive basis (essentially a standard dredging operation). The product will be attractive to Mexican and other world producers of fertilizers and can provide important benefits to Mexico's agricultural development.

The deposit lies within an exclusive mining concession licensed to the Mexican company Exploraciones Oceánicas S. de R.L. de CV (“ExO”). Oceanica Resources, S. de R.L., a Panamanian company (“Oceanica”) owns 99.99% of ExO, and Odyssey owns 56.14% of Oceanica through Odyssey Marine Enterprises, Ltd., a wholly owned Bahamian company (“Enterprises”).

In 2012, ExO was granted a 50-year mining license by Mexico (extendable for another 50 years at ExO's option) for the deposit that lies 25-40 km offshore in Baja California Sur.

We spent more than three years preparing an environmentally sustainable development plan with the assistance of experts in marine dredging and leading environmental scientists from around the world. Key features of the environmental plan included:

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No chemicals would be used in the dredging process or released into the sea.

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A specialized return down pipe that exceeds international best practices to manage the return of dredged sands close to the seabed, limiting plume or impact to the water column and marine ecosystem (including primary production).

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The seabed would be restored after dredging in such a way as to promote rapid regeneration of seabed organisms in dredged areas.

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Ecotoxicology tests demonstrated that the dredging and return of sediment to the seabed would not have toxic effects on organisms.

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Sound propagation studies concluded that noise levels generated during dredging would be similar to whale-watching vessels, merchant ships and fisherman's ships that already regularly transit this area, proving the system is not a threat to marine mammals.

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Dredging is limited to less than one square kilometer each year, which means the project would operate in only a tiny proportion of the concession area each year.

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Proven turtle protection measures were incorporated, even though the deposit and the dredging activity are much deeper and colder than where turtles feed and live, making material harm to the species highly remote.

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There will be no material impact on local fisheries as fishermen have historically avoided the water column directly above the deposit due to the naturally low occurrence of fish there.

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The project would not be visible from the shoreline and would not impact tourism or coastal activities.

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Precautionary mitigation measures were incorporated into the development plan in line with best-practice global operational standards.

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The technology proposed to recover the phosphate sands has been safely used in Mexican waters for over 20 years on more than 200 projects.

Notwithstanding the factors stated above, in April 2016 the Mexican Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT”) unlawfully rejected the permit to move forward with the project.

ExO challenged the decision in Mexican federal court and in March 2018, the Tribunal Federal de Justicia Administrativa (“TFJA”), an 11-judge panel, ruled unanimously that SEMARNAT denied the application in violation of Mexican law and ordered the agency to re-take its decision. Just prior to the change in the Mexican administration later in 2018, SEMARNAT denied the permit a second time in defiance of the court. ExO challenged the decision again before the TFJA. On October 25, 2024, the TFJA announced its ruling in favor of SEMARNAT. ExO has appealed the TFJA’s ruling, and the appeal is pending.

In addition, in April 2019, we filed a North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) arbitration claim against Mexico on behalf of Odyssey and ExO to protect our shareholders' interests and significant investment in the project. Our claim sought compensation on the basis that SEMARNAT’s wrongful repeated denial of authorization has destroyed the value of our investment in violation of NAFTA.

On June 14, 2019, Odyssey and ExO executed an agreement that provided up to $6.5 million in funding for prior, current and future costs of the NAFTA action. On January 31, 2020, this agreement was amended and restated, as a result of which the availability increased to $10.0 million. In December 2020, Odyssey announced it secured an additional $10.0 million from the funder to aid in our NAFTA case. On June 14, 2021, the funder agreed to fund up to an additional $5.0 million for litigation costs. The funder will not have any right of recourse against us unless the environmental permit is awarded or if proceeds are received (See Note 9, Derivative Financial Instruments – Litigation Financing).

On September 17, 2024, the Company received notification from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) of the arbitral award (the “Arbitral Award”) on the claims brought by the Company on behalf of itself and ExO, against the United Mexican States under NAFTA. The arbitral tribunal issued an award in favor of the Company and ExO. The award orders Mexico to pay $37.1 million for breaching its obligations under NAFTA, plus interest (the “Award Interest”) at the one-year Mexico Treasury bond rate, compounded annually, from October 12, 2018, until the award is paid in full, plus the arbitrators’ fees and ICSID administrative costs. The amounts awarded are net of Mexican taxes, and Mexico may not tax the award. The case filings and the award are available on the ICSID website. On December 12, 2024, Mexico commenced an application before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking to set-aside the Arbitral Award.

In October 2024, we discovered that the Mexican mining authority unlawfully cancelled ExO’s mining concessions in June and August 2024. ExO is challenging the cancellation.

Joint Venture with Capital Latinoamericano

On December 23, 2024, the Company and Capital Latinoamericano, S.A. de C.V. (“CapLat”) entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (the “JV Agreement”) pursuant to which Odyssey and CapLat formed a joint venture to develop a strategic fertilizer production project in Mexico (the “JV Project”) building on the work completed by the Company to validate a high-quality subsea phosphate resource within Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”). Pursuant to the JV Agreement, the Company and CapLat will work together to develop the JV Project and, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including certain regulatory approvals from Mexican governmental authorities, subsidiaries of each party will invest as equal partners, subject to adjustment based on final contributions, in a newly formed joint venture entity that will own and continue to develop and operate the JV Project. The JV Agreement also provides that the Company and CapLat have exclusive rights to develop the JV Project, and that CapLat has the exclusive right to develop with the Company any projects in the EEZ owned or developed by the Company during the next five years.

Each of the parties has the right to terminate the JV Agreement if the investment into the joint venture entity does not occur on or prior to December 31, 2026, or if there is a change of control of either party. In the event of a termination based on a change of control, the non-terminating party would be entitled to a termination fee of $10.0 million. The JV Agreement also sets forth representations and warranties, covenants, conditions, termination provisions, and other provisions customary for comparable transactions.

CIC Project:

CIC Limited (“CIC”) is a deep-sea mineral exploration company. CIC is supported by a consortium of companies providing expertise and financial contributions in support of development of the project. Odyssey is a member of the consortium, which also includes Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.

In February 2022, the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (“SBMA”) awarded CIC a five-year exploration license beginning June 2022. Offshore explorations and research commenced in the third quarter of 2022 with positive results in early sampling, which tested vessel and equipment functions and performance, which provided further information and data further defining the informed requirements for viable operational functions as the basis for a longer-term operation over the license period. The early operations also resulted in preliminary resource sampling which will ultimately accrue to the resource evaluation and regional environmental assessment and ongoing operations.

Through a wholly owned subsidiary, we have earned and now hold approximately 14.2% of the current outstanding equity units of CIC issued in exchange for provision of services by the Company.

We have the ability to earn up to an aggregate of 20.0 million equity units through August 2025. This means we can earn approximately 1.0 million additional equity units in CIC under our current services agreement. We achieved our current equity position through the provision of services rendered to CIC (see Note 5, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities).

Ocean Minerals, LLC Project:

Ocean Minerals LLC (“OML”) is a deepwater critical metals exploration and development company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Moana Minerals Limited (“Moana Minerals”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of OML and is a deepwater critical metals exploration and development company incorporated in the Cook Islands with offices and operations based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. In 2022, the SBMA awarded Moana Minerals a five-year exploration license (“EL3”) for a 23,630 square kilometer area in the Cook Islands' EEZ.

Moana Minerals has discovered polymetallic nodules in its exploration license area and, pursuant to the SBMA's standards and guidelines, it is conducting further exploration activities to increase confidence in the reported mineral resource and size of the reported mineral resources and to secure environmental approvals to perform commercial operations. OML and its project partners are also advancing work to develop recovery systems to harvest and process these high-quality seafloor polymetallic nodules commercially.

On June 4, 2023, Odyssey entered into a purchase agreement to acquire an approximately 13% interest in OML in exchange for a contribution by Odyssey of its interest in its then wholly owned subsidiary, ORI, whose sole asset was a 6,000-meter remotely operated vehicle ("ROV"), cash contributions of up to $10.0 million in a series of transactions over the subsequent year, a Contribution Agreement and an Equity Exchange Agreement. On July 3, 2023, the parties consummated the initial closing of the purchase agreement, pursuant to which Odyssey's wholly owned subsidiary obtained approximately 6.28% of OML's outstanding equity interests. On October 18, 2024, Odyssey and OML entered into a Termination Agreement pursuant to which the parties terminated the OML Purchase Agreement. The Termination Agreement terminated the parties’ rights and obligations relating to the Second OML Units, Third OML Units and Optional Units (see Note 5, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities), but did not affect Odyssey’s ownership of the Initial OML Units or its obligation to pay the lease payments for the ROV (see Note 5, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities). The Termination Agreement also did not affect the Equity Exchange Agreement or Contribution Agreement (each as defined above), each of which remains in effect.

The 6,000-meter rated ROV contributed to OML by Odyssey provides OML with an additional tool to advance the project toward eventual applications for an environmental permit and harvesting license when exploration and feasibility studies are completed and demonstrate how harvesting can be done without serious environmental harm. Over the next year, OML expects to advance its current Joint Ore Reserve Committee (“JORC”) compliant report, substantially increasing resources reporting to indicated and measured confidence levels and completing its preliminary Feasibility Study, among other important project milestones.

LIHIR Gold Project:

The exploration license for the Lihir Gold Project covers a subsea area that contains several prospective gold exploration targets in two different mineralization types: seamount-related epithermal and modern placer gold. Two subaqueous debris fields within the area are adjacent to the terrestrial Ladolam Gold Mine and are believed to have originated from the same volcanogenic source. The resource lies 500-2,000 meters deep in the Papua New Guinea Exclusive Economic Zone off the coast of Lihir Island, adjacent to the location of one of the world's largest know terrestrial gold deposits. We have an 85.6% interest in Bismarck Mining Corporation, Ltd, the Papua New Guinea company that holds the exploration license (the “Bismarck Exploration License”) for the project.

Previous exploration expeditions in the license area, including research conducted by Odyssey, indicate it is highly prospective for commercially viable gold content.

In 2021 and again in 2023, Papua New Guinea (“PNG”) issued permit extensions allowing Odyssey to continue with our exploration program. We have developed an exploration program for the Lihir Gold Project to validate and quantify the precious and base metal content of the prospective resource. The Company met with local regulatory authorities, specialists in local mining, environmental legal experts, and logistics support service companies in PNG to establish baseline business functions essential for a successful program to support upcoming marine exploration operations in the license area. This offshore work began in late 2021 and is ongoing. Bismarck and Odyssey value the environment and respect the interests and people of Papua New Guinea and Lihir and are committed to transparent sharing of all environmental data collected during the exploration program.

Offshore survey and mapping operations commenced in December 2021 in the Papua New Guinea, Lihir license area and was completed in 2022. This work produced a high-resolution acoustic terrain model of the seafloor in the area, as well as acquiring acoustic images of subseafloor sediments and lithology. This allowed characterization of the geologic setting of the area and essentially created a “snapshot” of the environment. These activities will help us to further characterize the value of this project and allow informed decision making on how to proceed with environmentally sensitive direct geologic sampling. In the first half of 2023, a comprehensive project plan was designed identifying specific target areas for geological and environmental samples to be collected in future offshore operations. No timetable has been set for operations to commence, as operational plans are currently being developed. On November 13, 2023, Bismarck received a sixth term renewal for the Bismarck Exploration License.

During 2023, Odyssey continued exploration in the exploration license area to continue to validate the geological prospectivity of the property. In addition to examining the regional geological and tectonic settings of the region, additional multibeam data and 127 geological samples were collected, and seven ROV dives were conducted. These activities increased Bismarck’s confidence in the presence of enriched mineral targets within the exploration license area. Likewise, two target sites were identified for future resource sampling. Future exploration will focus on continued sampling in these locations while working towards a defined resource assessment and gathering environmental baseline data to compile an environmental impact assessment.

Odyssey's multi-year exploration program is planned to focus on robust environmental surveys and studies that will accrue to environmental permitting in compliance with PNG's requirements as well as the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”). During the exploration phase, steps to validate and quantify the precious and base metal content of the prospective resource would also be carried out. Once completed, if the data shows extraction can be carried out responsibly, Odyssey will apply for a mining license.

Further development of this project is dependent on the characterization of any present resources during exploration and license approvals.

Legal and Political Issues

Odyssey works with several leading international maritime lawyers, lobbyists and policy experts to constantly monitor international and domestic legal, regulatory, and political initiatives that might affect our projects.

To the extent that we engage in mineral exploration or marine activities in the territorial, contiguous or exclusive economic zones of countries, we work to comply with verifiable applicable regulations and treaties.

We believe there will be increased interest in the recovery of subsea minerals throughout the oceans of the world. We are uniquely qualified to provide governments and international agencies with knowledge and skills to help manage these resources.

Related to mineral exploration, we evaluate the political climate and specific legal requirements of any areas in which we plan to work or are currently working. We may partner with third parties who have unique industry experience in specific geographical areas to assist with navigation of the regulatory landscape.

Competition

We conduct mineral exploration on both shallow and deep-sea terrains. There are several companies that publicly identify themselves as engaged in aspects of deep-ocean mineral exploration or mining, including Ocean Minerals LLC, The Metals Company, Global Sea Mineral Resources, and Chatham Rock Phosphate, Ltd., as well as countries that are evaluating options to mine deep-ocean mineralized materials. As our mineral exploration business plan includes partnering with others in the industry, we view these entities as potential partners rather than pure competitors. As mineral rights are generally granted on an exclusive basis for a specific area or tenement, once licenses are granted, we do not anticipate any competitive intrusion on those areas. It is possible that one of these companies or some currently unknown group may secure licenses on an area desired by us or one of our partners; but since exploration work does not start until licenses are secured, we do not believe that competition from one or more of these entities, known or unknown, would materially affect our operating plan or alter our current business strategy. For offshore mineral exploration, there are providers of vessels and equipment that could be competitors or partners for certain projects. These companies generally service the oil, gas, wind and telecom industries with survey capabilities. We view these companies as potential strategic partners or services providers for our projects.

Cost of Environmental Compliance

With the exception of marine operations, our general business operations do not expose us to environmental risks or hazards. We carry insurance that provides a layer of protection in the event of an environmental exposure resulting from the operation of vessels and equipment we may utilize. The cost of such coverage is not material on an annual basis. Our seabed mineral business is currently in the exploration and validation phase and has thus not exposed us to any significant environmental risks or hazards, other than those which are standard to basic marine operations.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The names, ages and positions of all the executive officers of the Company as of March 1, 2025, are listed below.

Mark D. Gordon (age 64) has served as Chief Executive Officer since October 1, 2014, and was appointed to the Board of Directors (the “Board”) in January 2008. Mr. Gordon also served as President from October 2007 to June 2019, when he was appointed Chairman of the Board. Previously, Mr. Gordon served as Chief Operating Officer since October 2007 and as Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development since January 2007 after joining Odyssey as Director of Business Development in June 2005. Prior to joining Odyssey, Mr. Gordon owned and managed four different ventures.

John D. Longley, Jr. (age 58) has served as Chief Operating Officer since October 1, 2014, and was appointed President in June 2019. Previously Mr. Longley served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development since February 2012. Mr. Longley was originally the Director of Sales and Business Operations when he joined the Company in May 2006. Prior to joining Odyssey, Mr. Longley served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Public Imagery from 2003 to 2005 and Director of Retail Marketing for Office Depot North American stores from 1998 to 2003.

Human Capital Management

We believe our success has always been dependent on our team of professionals in various fields who are passionate about the ocean, discovery, and making a difference. Therefore, we invest in our people and cultivate a dynamic, engaging, safe and welcoming workplace that drives innovation, encourages collaboration, and helps our people thrive.

As of December 31, 2024, we had 11 full-time employees, most working from our corporate offices in Tampa, Florida. Additionally, we contract with specialized technicians to perform technical marine survey and recovery operations and from time to time hire subcontractors and consultants to perform specific services.

Recruitment, Retention, Training and Development

Odyssey has a long tenured team that continues to attract world class experts. We believe this is a testament to our culture of treating our employees with respect, providing them with the tools and setting to be productive and innovative, and providing benefits that allow employees to maintain a healthy home and work life. To foster their and our success, we have made the recruitment, retention and development of dedicated and experienced professionals a cornerstone of our corporate strategy.

A key contributing factor to our historically high employee retention rates is our ability to rescale and upscale them through internal and external training and development programs. These include seminars, educational courses and webinars, degree programs, professional organization memberships, scholarly journal subscriptions, books and computer-based resources.

Compensation, Benefits and Well-being

Odyssey strives to support our employees in various ways and provide compensation and benefits that reflect our vested interest in them and their families. We offer generous health, dental and vision insurance coverage, company funded Health Reimbursement Accounts, as well as zero cost short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance coverage for all full-time employees. We recognize that our team's needs are varied and changing and that our benefits should be as well. Our Beyond Benefits program provides other, non-traditional assistance to employees to help them maintain their unique needs.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our ability to retain and recruit employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives is critical to driving innovation and adapting to future challenges. As we grow our employee base and expand our work in other countries with diverse local communities, we strive to foster an inclusive company culture through increased training and awareness programs.

To date, our primary focus has been on improving gender diversity. Currently, 50% of our employees are female.

Enhancing gender and racial/ethnic diversity in management and our broader workforce is among Odyssey's priorities for the coming years. When recruiting for senior leadership roles, we aspire to have at least 50% of candidates represent diverse backgrounds.

Health and Safety

Odyssey is committed to maintaining an incident-free, healthy work environment for employees and contractors. Our focus on responsible seafloor exploration includes complying with applicable laws and regulations in all material respects and adhering to international best practices in occupational health and safety. We require that any contracted vessel, ship management agency, ship company, and staffed crew be in good standing with various national, international and trade association codes.

To measure progress towards our safety goals outlined in our Quality, Health, Safety and Environment policies and procedures, we track several key performance indicators (KPIs). These include recordable medical incidents, lost workdays, first aid cases, restricted workdays, and the frequency of safety meetings. We also implement additional risk control measures such as safety drills and management visits. KPIs and control measures continue to evolve as our organization and project requirements change.

Available Information

The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports are available free of charge through the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website, www.odysseymarine.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website, www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information filed electronically with the SEC by the Company. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information when you enroll your email address by visiting the “Investor Relations” section of our website. The content of any website referred to in this document is not incorporated by reference into this document.