(Thursday, August 3, 2006)

Odyssey Marine Exploration issued the following press release today:

Tampa, FL — August 3, 2006 — Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc (AMEX: OMR), a leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, has exercised its right to terminate the lease agreement on the property housing its shipwreck attraction in New Orleans due to the continuing economic and business difficulties in the city and surrounding areas since Hurricane Katrina.
    Odyssey's Shipwreck & Treasure Adventure will close in September 2006. Odyssey plans to re-open the attraction in another market later in 2006. The attraction originally opened in New Orleans on August 27, 2005, but closed almost immediately due to Hurricane Katrina. The attraction re-opened in early 2006, along with many other businesses who hoped to help bring the tourism industry back to life in the city.
    "New Orleans suffered a terrible tragedy with Hurricane Katrina and the devastating consequences continue to be felt. Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, the economic climate in the city remains challenging. We hoped when we returned in February that business conditions, particularly tourism, would rebound quicker, but that unfortunately has not happened. It is therefore with tremendous sadness and regret that we must move the attraction — at least for now," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey's co-founder. "We want to express our profound gratitude to the citizens of New Orleans, which include our fantastic employees, our friends at Jax Brewery, the Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Tourism Marketing Corporation, the French Quarter Business Association, Gray Line, the New Orleans Steamboat Company, and everyone else who contributed to make the attraction such a hit with visitors."
    Odyssey's Shipwreck & Treasure Adventure employees will remain on staff, and the facility will maintain normal business hours and remain open to the public, through its closing in September 2006.
    Odyssey remains committed to the shipwreck attraction concept as an important future revenue generator for the Company. Odyssey's Shipwreck & Treasure Adventure is designed to appeal to the universal fascination with shipwrecks and sunken treasure. The New Orleans attraction revealed the compelling stories behind some of the world's most famous shipwrecks, their treasure and historical artifacts, and it allowed visitors to interactively experience the adventure and excitement of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration through multiple hands-on exhibits.
    The attraction was designed to be mobile, so Odyssey is currently negotiating lease terms with possible venues to host the attraction which features the side-wheel steamer Republic. The Republic sank in a hurricane off the coast of Georgia while sailing from New York to New Orleans in 1865. Odyssey discovered the Republic nearly 1,700 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the summer of 2003, nearly 138 years after the ship went down. More than 51,000 gold and silver coins, and approximately 13,000 additional artifacts, were recovered in the world's most extensive deep-ocean archaeological excavation.
    "One of the things we consistently learned from visitor exit surveys performed by an independent research firm was that the New Orleans attraction was highly popular with our guests. A high percentage of visitors noted that, not only would they return, but they would also strongly recommend the attraction to others and considered it an excellent value," said John C. Morris, Odyssey's co-founder and CEO. "That's a testament to how hard our staff worked to make this concept successful, and we believe we've established a solid, repeatable shipwreck attraction model for the future. Had Hurricane Katrina not devastated New Orleans and surrounding areas, we're confident our attraction would be flourishing."

About Odyssey Marine Exploration
    Odyssey Marine Exploration is an American Stock Exchange Company with several shipwreck projects in various stages of development throughout the world. Additional information about Odyssey, its projects, methodologies and technologies, is available at www.shipwreck.net.
    For additional information, please contact John McNeilly, Odyssey's Associate Director of Corporate Communications, at 813-876-1776 (ext. 2553).