ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION INC - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

Commission File Number 001-31895

ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

205 S. Hoover Blvd, Suite 210, Tampa FL 33609

(Address and zip code of principal executive offices)

(813) 876-1776

(Registrant’s telephone number including area code)

Securities registered pursuant Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

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The aggregate market value of the 18.7 million shares of voting stock held by non-affiliates of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. as of June 30, 2022, was approximately $63.7 million. As of February 14, 2023, the Registrant had 19,588,571shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

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As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, "we," "us," "our company" and "Odyssey" mean Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. and our subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

PART I

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. The statements regarding Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. and its subsidiaries contained in this report that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," or comparable terminology, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions, and entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements.

Important factors known to us that could cause such material differences are identified in our "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A and elsewhere in this report. Accordingly, readers of this Annual Report on Form 10-K should consider these factors in evaluating an investment in our securities and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events unless otherwise specifically indicated, except as required by law.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

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.

The company has 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.

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 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.

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Benefits of Ocean Mineral Resource Development

Some of the benefits of ocean mineral resource development include:

Considering the benefits of subsea mineral resource extraction, we are convinced that in the future, 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 applying 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 adding 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. The SEC has adopted amendments to the property disclosure requirements for mining registrants that must be complied with for the full fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, 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 is a rich deposit of phosphate sands located 70-90 meters deep within Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This deposit contains a large amount of high-grade phosphate rock that can be extracted on a

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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 56.29% 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:

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 administration later in 2018, SEMARNAT denied the permit a second time in defiance of the court. ExO is once again challenging the unlawful decision of the Peña Nieto administration before the TFJA. In addition, in April 2019, we filed a North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") Claim against Mexico to protect our shareholders’ interests and significant investment in the project.

Our claim seeks compensation of over $2 billion on the basis that SEMARNAT’s wrongful repeated denial of authorization has destroyed the value of our investment in the country and is in violation of the following provisions of NAFTA:

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We filed our First Memorial in the NAFTA case in September 2020. It is supported by documentary evidence and 20 expert reports and witness statements. In summary, this evidence includes:

Odyssey filed its First Memorial in the case on September 4, 2020. Mexico filed its Counter-Memorial on February 23, 2021. On June 29, 2021, we filed our reply to Mexico’s Counter-Memorial. Odyssey’s filings are available at www.odysseymarine.com/nafta. Mexico filed its Rejoinder on October 19, 2021. The procedural calendar and case filings are available on the ICSID website. The NAFTA Tribunal hearing took place in early 2022. In accordance with the procedural calendar, written post-hearing briefs were filed in September 2022. The evidentiary phase of the case is now closed and the Tribunal has begun its deliberations. Odyssey cannot predict the length of these deliberations or when a ruling will be issued, but we remain confident in the merits of our case.

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.

In December 2021, the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority’s ("SBMA") Licensing Panel announced that CIC met the qualification criteria for an exploration license. On February 23, 2022, the SMBA 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, testing of vessels and equipment, which 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 when primary operations commence in 2023.

Through a wholly owned subsidiary, we have earned and now hold approximately 14.32% 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 over the next several calendar years, which represents an approximate 16.0% interest in CIC based on the currently outstanding equity units. This means we can earn approximately 2.1 million additional equity units in CIC under our current services agreement. We achieved our current equity position through the provision of services rendered to this venture (see Note 9 Investment in Unconsolidated Entity).

South American Phosphate Project:

Odyssey reached an exclusive agreement in early 2022 with BlueSea Minerals, Ltd. and BlueSea Minerals Brasil Ltda. (collectively, the "BlueSea Group") to create a new joint venture company (the "JV") in which Odyssey will own a 75% interest. The JV will have exclusive rights to 19 highly prospective phosphate areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone ("EEZ") of a South American country. Legacy data and desktop research indicate high-grade phosphate deposits in the concession areas.

Pending execution of the definitive agreement, Odyssey will manage the overall South American Phosphate Project development and BlueSea Group will manage business operations in South America. A related party to BlueSea Group, SeaSeep, will provide marine operations services, supervised by Odyssey.

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The 19 licenses to be developed by the JV include 366 square kilometres of seabed. The geological setting of these licenses is similar to the geology Odyssey identified off the coast of Mexico, which is now known as the ExO Phosphate deposit ("ExO Project"). The ExO deposit estimated 588 million tonnes of high-grade resource. The ExO project had extremely compelling economics that demonstrated that ExO could have been one of the lowest cost producers in the world. Phosphate prices have surged in recent months and the need for phosphate to combat world hunger continues to grow. It is anticipated that the South American deposits can be harvested with the standard and similar technology and engineering solutions already identified for the ExO Project, which will allow the phosphate to be recovered in an environmentally responsible manner without the addition of any chemicals into the sea.

LIHIR Gold Project:

The exploration license for the Lihir Gold Project covers a subsea area that contains at least five 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 for the project.

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

In August 2021, Papua New Guinea ("PNG") issued a permit extension 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. 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 earlier this year. 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.

Odyssey’s multi-year exploration program will 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 will 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 and policy experts to constantly monitor international legal 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 are working. We may partner with third parties who have unique industry experience in specific geographical areas to assist with navigation of the regulatory landscape.

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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 Deep Sea Mining Finance Limited ("DSMF" OTCM:"NUSMF"), Ocean Marine Minerals ("OML"), The Metals Company (NASDAQ:"TMC"), Global Sea Mineral Resources ("GSR"), and Chatham Rock Phosphate, Ltd. ("CRP.NZ"), 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 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, 2023, are listed below.

Mark D. Gordon (age 62) has served as Chief Executive Officer since October 1, 2014, and was appointed to the Board of Directors 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.

Christopher E. Jones (age 49) has served as Chief Financial Officer since June 15, 2021. Prior to joining Odyssey, Mr. Jones served as Vice President of Corporate Finance at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment since 2017; Managing Director at Buckingham Research Group from 2016 to 2017; Managing Director at Union Gaming from 2014 to 2016 and Managing Director at Telsey Advisory Group from 2008 to 2014. He has also held positions at Oppenheimer & Company, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.

John D. Longley, Jr. (age 56) has served as Chief Operating Officer since October 1, 2014 and was appointed President on June 3, 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.

Laura L. Barton (age 60) was appointed as Chief Business Officer in March 2021 and was elected to the Board of Directors in June 2019 and has served as Corporate Secretary since June 2015. She formerly served as Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications from November 2007 to June 2012 and Executive Vice President and Director of Communications from 2012 until 2021. Ms. Barton previously served as Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing for Odyssey since July 2003. Ms. Barton was previously President of LLB Communications, a marketing and communications consulting company whose customers included a variety of television networks, stations and distributors and the Company (1994 to 2003).

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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, 2022, we had 14 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 and Development

Odyssey has a long tenured team which continues to grow and 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.

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, long-term and life insurance coverage for all 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.

Training and Development

A key contributing factor to our 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.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our ability to retain and recruit employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives is critical to driving innovation and to 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 such as cultural sensitivity.

To date, our primary focus has been on gender diversity. Currently, 14% of our Board of Directors, 25% of our Executive team and 50% of our employees below executive level 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 adhering to international best practices in occupational health and safety. We require that any contracted vessel, ship management agency, ship company, and staffed crew to 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) including recordable medical incidents, lost workdays, first aid cases, restricted workdays, and frequency of safety meetings. Additional risk control measures include safety drills and management visits. KPIs and control measures continue to evolve as organization and project requirements change.

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Internet Access

Odyssey’s Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and all amendments to those reports are available without charge through Odyssey’s web site on the Internet as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, www.sec.gov. They may be accessed as follows: www.odysseymarine.com (Investors/Financial Information Link).

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following factors, in addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in evaluating our company and our business. Our business, operations and financial condition are subject to various risks. The material risks are described below and should be carefully considered in evaluating Odyssey or any investment decision relating to our securities. This section is intended only as a summary of the principal risks. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, operating results, or financial results could suffer. If this occurs, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of the money you paid to buy our common stock.

Our business involves a high degree of risk.

An investment in Odyssey is extremely speculative and of exceptionally high risk. With respect to mineral exploration projects, there are uncertainties with respect to the quality and quantity of the material and their economic feasibility, the price we can obtain for the sale of the deposit or the ore extracted from the deposit, the granting of the necessary permits to operate, environmental safety, technology for extraction and processing, distribution of the eventual ore product, and funding of necessary equipment and facilities. In projects where Odyssey takes a minority ownership position in the company holding the mining rights, there may be uncertainty as to that company’s ability to move the project forward.

The research and data we use may not be reliable.

The success of a mineral project is dependent to a substantial degree upon the research and data we or the contracting party have obtained. By its very nature, research and data regarding mineral deposits can be imprecise, incomplete, outdated, and unreliable. For mineral exploration, data is collected based on a sampling technique and available data may not be representative of the entire ore body or tenement area. Prior to conducting off-shore exploration, we typically conduct on-shore research. There is no guarantee that the models and research conducted onshore will be representative of actual results on the seafloor. Offshore exploration typically requires significant expenditures, with no guarantee that the results will be useful or financially rewarding.

Operations may be affected by natural hazards.

Underwater exploration and recovery operations are inherently difficult and dangerous and may be delayed or suspended by weather, sea conditions or other natural hazards. Further, such operations may be undertaken more safely during certain months of the year than others. We cannot guarantee that we, or the entities we are affiliated with, will be able to conduct exploration, sampling or extractions operations during favorable periods. In addition, even though sea conditions in a particular search location may be somewhat predictable, the possibility exists that unexpected conditions may occur that adversely affect our operations. It is also possible that natural hazards may prevent or significantly delay operations. Seabed mineral extraction work may be subject to interruptions resulting from storms that adversely affect the extraction operations or the ports of delivery. Project planning considers these risks.

We may be unable to establish our rights to resources or items we discover or recover.

We may discover potentially valuable seabed mineral deposits, but we may be unable to get title to the deposits or get the necessary governmental permits to commercially extract the minerals. Mineral deposits may be in controlled waters where the policies

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and laws of a certain government may change abruptly, thereby adversely affecting our ability to operate in those zones. We have a process for evaluating this risk in our proprietary Global Prospectivity Program.

The market for any objects or minerals we recover is uncertain.

During the time between when a mineral deposit is discovered and the first extracted minerals are sold, world and local prices for the mineral may fluctuate drastically and thereby adversely affect the economics of the mineral project.

We could experience delays in the disposition or sale of minerals or recovered objects.

It may take significant time between when a mineral deposit is discovered and the first extracted minerals are sold. Stakes in the mineral deposits can potentially be sold at an earlier date, but there is no guarantee that there will be readily available buyers at favorable competitive prices.

Legal, political or civil issues could interfere with our marine operations.

Legal, political or civil issues of governments throughout the world could restrict access to our operational marine sites or interfere with our marine operations or rights to seabed mineral deposits. In many countries, the legislation covering ocean exploration lacks clarity or certainty. As a result, when we are conducting projects in certain areas of the world for our own account or on our behalf of a contracting party, we may be subjected to unexpected delays, requests, and outcomes as we work with local governments to define and obtain the necessary permits and to assert our claims over assets on the seafloor bottom. Our vessel, equipment, personnel and or cargo could be seized or detained by government authorities. We may have to work with different units of a government, and there may be a change of government representatives over time. This may result in unexpected changes or interpretations in government contracts and legislation.

We may be unable to get permission to conduct exploration, excavation, or extraction operations.

It is possible we will not be successful in obtaining the necessary permits to conduct exploration or excavation and extraction operations. In addition, permits we obtain may be revoked or not honored by the entities that issued them. In addition, certain governments may develop new permit requirements that could delay new operations or interrupt existing operations.

Changes in our business strategy or restructuring of our businesses may increase our costs or otherwise affect the profitability of our businesses.

As changes in our business environment occur, we may need to adjust our business strategies to meet these changes or we may otherwise find it necessary to restructure our operations or particular businesses or assets. When these changes or events occur, we may incur costs to change our business strategy and may need to write down the value of assets or sell certain assets. In any of these events our costs may increase, and we may have significant charges associated with the write-down of assets. Discontinuing the use of a multi-year charter of a ship may result in large one-time costs to cover any penalties or charges to put the ship back into its original condition.

We may be unsuccessful in raising the necessary capital to fund operations and capital expenditures.

Our ability to generate cash inflows is dependent upon our ability to provide mineral exploration and development services to our subsidiaries and other subsea mineral companies or monetize mineral rights. However, we cannot guarantee that the sales and other cash sources will generate sufficient cash inflows to meet our overall cash requirements. If cash inflows are not sufficient to meet our business requirements, we will be required to raise additional capital through other financing activities. While we have been successful in raising the necessary funds in the past, there can be no assurance we can continue to do so in the future.

We depend on key employees and face competition in hiring and retaining qualified employees.

Our employees are vital to our success, and our key management and other employees are difficult to replace. We currently do not have employment contracts with the majority of our key employees. We may not be able to retain highly qualified employees in the future which could adversely affect our business.

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We may continue to experience significant losses from operations.

We have experienced a net loss in every fiscal year since our inception except for 2004. Our net losses were $23.1 million in 2022, $10.0 million in 2021 and $14.8 million in 2020. Even if we do generate operating income in one or more quarters in the future, subsequent developments in our industry, customer base, business or cost structure or an event such as significant litigation or a significant transaction may cause us to again experience operating losses. We may not become profitable for the long-term, or even for any quarter.

Technological obsolescence of our marine assets or failure of critical equipment could put a strain on our capital requirements or operational capabilities.

We employ state-of-the-art technology including side-scan sonar, magnetometers, ROVs, and other advanced science and technology to perform seabed mineral exploration. Although we try to maintain back-ups on critical equipment and components, equipment failures may require us to delay or suspend operations. Also, while we endeavor to keep marine equipment in excellent working condition and current with all available upgrades, technological advances in new equipment may provide superior efficiencies compared to the capabilities of our existing equipment, and this could require us to purchase new equipment which would require additional capital.

We may not be able to contract with clients or customers for marine services or syndicated projects.

In the past, from time to time, we have earned revenue by chartering out vessels, equipment and crew and providing marine services to clients or customers. Even if we do contract out our services, the revenue may not be sufficient to cover administrative overhead costs. While the operational results of these syndicated projects are generally successful, the clients or customers may not be willing or financially able to continue with syndicated projects of this type in the future. Failure to secure such revenue producing contracts in the future may have a material adverse impact on our revenue and operating cash flows. We may take payment for these services in the form of cash, equity in the client’s company, or a financial interest in the tenement areas.

The issuance of shares at conversion prices lower than the market price at the time of conversion and the sale of such shares could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

Some of our outstanding shares may have been acquired from time to time upon conversion of convertible notes at conversion prices that are lower than the market price of our common stock at the time of conversion. In the past, Odyssey has issued debt obligations that could be converted into common shares at prices below the current market price. Conversion of the notes at conversion prices that are lower than the market price at the time of conversion and the sale of the shares issued upon conversion could have an adverse effect upon the market price of our common stock.

Investments in subsea mineral exploration companies may prove unsuccessful.

We have invested in marine mineral companies that to date are still in the exploration phase and have not begun to earn revenue from operations. We may or may not have control or input on the future development of these businesses. There can be no assurance that these companies will achieve profitability or otherwise be successful in capitalizing on the mineralized materials they intend to exploit.

We may be subject to short selling strategies.

Short sellers of our stock may be manipulative and may attempt to drive down the market price of our common stock. Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has, supposedly, borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is therefore in the short seller’s best interests for the price of the stock to decline, many short sellers (sometime known as "disclosed shorts") publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its business prospects to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a stock short. Although traditionally these disclosed shorts were limited in their ability to access mainstream business media or to otherwise create negative market rumors, the rise of the Internet and technological advancements regarding document creation, videotaping and publication by weblog ("blogging") have allowed many disclosed shorts to publicly attack a company’s credibility, strategy and veracity by means of so-called "research reports" that mimic the type of investment analysis performed by large Wall Street firms and independent research analysts. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market, on occasion in large scale and broad base. Issuers who have limited trading volumes and are susceptible to higher volatility levels than large-cap stocks, can

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be particularly vulnerable to such short seller attacks. These short seller publications are not regulated by any governmental, self-regulatory organization or other official authority in the U.S., are not subject to certification requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and, accordingly, the opinions they express may be based on distortions or omissions of actual facts or, in some cases, fabrications of facts. In light of the limited risks involved in publishing such information, and the enormous profit that can be made from running just one successful short attack, unless the short sellers become subject to significant penalties, it is more likely than not that disclosed short sellers will continue to issue such reports.

Some of our equipment or assets could be seized or we may be forced to sell certain assets.

We have pledged certain assets, such as equipment and shares of subsidiaries, as collateral under our loan agreements. Some suppliers have the ability to seize some of our assets if we do not make timely payments for the services, supplies, or equipment that they have provided to us. If we were unable to make payments on these obligations, the lender or supplier may seize the asset or force the sale of the asset. The loss of such assets could adversely affect our operations. The sale of the asset may be done in a manner and under circumstances that do not provide the highest cash value for the sale of the asset.

We could be delisted from the NASDAQ Capital Market.

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market, which imposes, among other requirements, a minimum bid requirement. The closing bid price for our common stock must remain at or above $1.00 per share to comply with NASDAQ’s minimum bid requirement for continued listing. If the closing bid price for our common stock is less than $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days, NASDAQ may send us a notice stating we will be provided a period of 180 days to regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement or else NASDAQ may make a determination to delist our common stock. Another requirement for continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market is to maintain our market capitalization above $35.0 million.

Our failure to maintain compliance with the above-mentioned and other NASDAQ continued listing requirements may lead to the delisting of our common from the NASDAQ Capital Market. Delisting from the NASDAQ Capital Market could make trading our common stock more difficult for investors, potentially leading to declines in our share price and liquidity. If our common stock is delisted by NASDAQ, our common stock may be eligible to trade on an over-the-counter quotation system, where an investor may find it more difficult to sell our stock or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock. We cannot assure you that our common stock, if delisted from the NASDAQ Capital Market, will be listed on another national securities exchange or quoted on an over-the counter quotation system.

Our insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover all of our business risks.

Although we seek to obtain insurance for some of our main operational risks, there is no guarantee that the insurance policies that we have are sufficient, that they will be in place when needed, that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage when desired, that insurance will be available on commercially attractive terms, or that we will be able to anticipate the risks that need to be insured. For example, although we may be able to obtain War Risk coverage for a project at a specific date and location, such insurance may be unavailable at other times and locations. Although we may be able to insure our marine assets for certain risks such as certain possible loss or damage scenarios, we may lack insurance to cover against government seizure or detention of our certain marine assets. Permanent loss or temporary loss of our marine assets and the associated business interruption without commensurate compensation from an insurance policy could severely impact the financial results and operational capabilities of the company.

We may be exposed to cyber security risks.

We depend on information technology networks and systems to process, transmit and store electronic information and to communicate among our locations around the world and among ourselves within our company. Additionally, one of our significant responsibilities is to maintain the security and privacy of our confidential and proprietary information and the personal data of our employees. Our information systems, and those of our service and support providers, are vulnerable to an increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. Computer viruses, hackers and other external hazards, as well as improper or inadvertent staff behavior could expose confidential company and personal data systems and information to security breaches. Techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or cause system interruption change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion. As a result, we may be unable to anticipate these incidents or techniques, timely discover them, or implement adequate preventative measures. With respect to our commercial arrangements with service and support providers, we have processes designed to require third-party IT outsourcing, offsite storage and other vendors to agree to maintain certain standards with respect to the storage, protection and transfer of confidential, personal and proprietary information. However, we remain at risk of a data breach due to the intentional or unintentional non-compliance by a vendor’s employee or agent, the breakdown of a vendor’s data protection processes, or a cyber-attack on a vendor’s information systems or our information systems.

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Mining exploration, development and operating have inherent risks.

Mining operations generally involve a high degree of risk. The financing, exploration, development and mining of any of our properties is furthermore subject to a number of macroeconomic, legal and social factors, including commodity prices, laws and regulations, political conditions, currency fluctuations, the ability to hire and retain qualified people, the inability to obtain suitable and adequate machinery, equipment or labor and obtaining necessary services in the jurisdictions in which we may operate. Unfavorable changes to these and other factors have the potential to negatively affect our operations and business. Major expenses may be required to locate and establish mineral reserves and resources, to develop processes and to construct mining and processing facilities at a particular site. Mining, processing, development and exploration activities depend, to one degree or another, on adequate infrastructure. Unusual or infrequent weather phenomena, sabotage, government or other interference could adversely affect our operations, financial condition and results of operations. It is impossible to ensure that the exploration or development programs planned by us will result in a profitable commercial mining operation. Whether precious or base metal or mineral deposit will be commercially viable depends on a number of factors, some of which are: the particular attributes of the deposit, such as the quantity and quality of mineralization ; mineral prices, which are highly cyclical; and government regulations, including regulations relating to prices, taxes, royalties, land tenure, land use, importing and exporting minerals and environmental protection. The exact effect of these factors cannot be accurately predicted, but the combination of these factors may result in not receiving an adequate return on invested capital. There is no certainty that the expenditures to be made by us towards the exploration and evaluation of our projects will result in discoveries or production of commercial quantities of the minerals. In addition, once in production, mineral reserves are finite and there can be no assurance that we will be able to locate additional reserves as its existing reserves are depleted.

We are subject to significant governmental regulations, which affect our operations and costs of conducting our business.

Our exploration operations are subject to government legislation, policies and controls relating to prospecting, development, production, environmental protection, mining taxes and labor standards. In order for us to carry out our activities, various licenses and permits must be obtained and kept current. There is no guarantee that the Company’s licenses and permits will be granted, or that once granted will be maintained and extended. In addition, the terms and conditions of such licenses or permits could be changed and there can be no assurances that any application to renew any existing licenses will be approved. There can be no assurance that all permits that we require will be obtainable on reasonable terms, or at all. Delays or a failure to obtain such permits, or a failure to comply with the terms of any such permits that we have obtained, could have a material adverse impact on our operations. We may be required to contribute to the cost of providing the required infrastructure to facilitate the development of our properties and will also have to obtain and comply with permits and licenses that may contain specific conditions concerning operating procedures, water use, waste disposal, spills, environmental studies and financial assurances. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with any such conditions and non-compliance with such conditions may result in the loss of certain of our permits and licenses on properties, which may have a material adverse effect on us. Future taxation of mining operators cannot be predicted with certainty so planning must be undertaken using present conditions and best estimates of any potential future changes. There is no certainty that such planning will be effective to mitigate adverse consequences of future taxation on us.

We may not be able to obtain all required permits and licenses to place any of our properties into production.

Our current and future operations, including development activities and commencement of production, if warranted, require permits from governmental authorities and such operations are and will be governed by laws and regulations governing prospecting, development, mining, production, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. Companies engaged in mineral property exploration and the development or operation of mines and related facilities generally experience increased costs, and delays in production and other schedules as a result of the need to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permits. We cannot predict if all permits which we may require for continued exploration, development or construction of mining facilities and conduct of mining operations will be obtainable on reasonable terms, if at all. Costs related to applying for and obtaining permits and licenses may be prohibitive and could delay our planned exploration and development activities. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements may result in enforcement actions, including orders issued by regulatory or judicial authorities causing operations to cease or be curtailed, and may include corrective measures requiring capital expenditures, installation of additional equipment, or remedial actions. Parties engaged in mining operations may be required to compensate those suffering loss or damage by reason of the mining activities and may have civil or criminal fines or penalties imposed for violations of applicable laws or regulations. Amendments to current laws, regulations and permits governing operations and activities of mining companies, or more stringent implementation thereof, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and cause increases in capital expenditures or production costs or reduction in levels of production at producing properties or require abandonment or delays in development of new mining properties

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Calculations of mineral resources and mineral reserves are estimates only and subject to uncertainty.

The estimating of mineral resources and mineral reserves is an imprecise process and the accuracy of such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, the assumptions used and judgments made in interpreting engineering and geological information and estimating future capital and operating costs. There is significant uncertainty in any reserve or resource estimate, and the economic results of mining a mineral deposit may differ materially from the estimates as additional data are developed or interpretations change.

Estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves may be materially affected by other factors.

In addition to uncertainties inherent in estimating mineral resources and mineral reserves, other factors may adversely affect estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves. Such factors may include but are not limited to metallurgical, environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, gold prices, and capital and operating costs. Any of these or other adverse factors may reduce or eliminate estimated mineral reserves and mineral resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and corporate reputation.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Corporate Office

We maintain our corporate offices in Tampa, Florida where we lease approximately 6,000 square feet of office space. We currently do not own any buildings or land. We believe our current leased facility is sufficient for our foreseeable needs.

Don Diego Phosphorite Project

Summary

We have one material mining project, the Don Diego Phosphorite Project, which is located in the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone (the "Mexican EEZ") offshore Baja California Sur, Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. The exclusive mining concessions for the Don Diego Phosphorite Project are held by Exploraciones Oceánicas S. de R.L. de CV ("ExO"), a Mexican company in which we hold, through other subsidiaries, a 56.14% interest. The Primary concession (concession No. 244813) was granted in 2012, and rights for the two additional adjacent concessions (Norte concession No. 242994 and Sur concession No. 242995) were acquired in 2014. Exploration has confirmed the Don Diego West Phosphorite Deposit lies within the Primary and Norte concessions. The Don Diego Phosphorite Project currently has no reportable mineral reserves.

Location and Brief Description

The Don Diego Phosphorite Project concession area is a sedimentary marine phosphorite deposit located in the Mexican EEZ offshore Baja California Sur, Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. The property is located using a multi-point polygonal property

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demarcation bounded by latitudes 26.1°, 25.4°, and longitudes -112.2°, -112.9° WGS 1984. The property is roughly 20 to 45 kilometers from shore. Following is a map denoting the three concessions in relation to Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Infrastructure and Access

There is no material infrastructure located on the property where the concessions are located. Access to the site is by sea-going vessels dispatched from various nearby ports of opportunity. Project engineering anticipates use of existing dredging technology

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to recover the phosphorite ore, including a trailing suction hopper dredger, and on-site mechanical beneficiation using a floating production and storage platform to produce phosphate rock concentrate, none of which introduces chemicals to the marine environment.

Description of Concessions

Total concessions encompass approximately 114,775 hectares of seafloor at a water depth of approximately 80 meters and consist of three concessions in total (see section Location and Brief Description above). The concessions were granted to ExO by the Mexican Secretary of Economy, General Coordination of Mining, and are valid for 50 years, with an option for a 50-year extension. The Primary concession was granted in 2012, and rights for the other two concessions (Norte and Sur) were acquired thereafter in 2014. To commence further operations on the Don Diego Phosphorite Project, ExO must obtain approval of its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") from the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources ("SEMARNAT"). See ExO Phosphate Project in the above ITEM 1. BUSINESS for additional information.

The property is subject to rents, fees and other payments to the Government of Mexico or its designated government ministry or agency. The anticipated annual obligations for each of the years in the three-year period ending December 31, 2025 are set forth in the table below.

Primary Concession

Norte Concession

Sur Concession

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Work Completed

The Don Diego Phosphorite Project has sufficient data to confirm the geological continuity of the deposit and the estimation of measured, indicated and inferred resource tonnes. ExO, through exploration operations conducted by Odyssey, explored the area, characterized the environmental baseline to enable drafting of the ESIA, and acquired approximately 200 vibracore samples for assay. These cores were split into individual strata core units each of approximately 1 meter length. The cores were assayed at Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute in Bartow, Florida under the guidance of Mr. Henry Lamb.

Related Matters

This annual report on Form 10-K does not include a resource estimate for the Don Diego Phosphorite Project because currently we do not have a technical report summary for the project that meets the requirements of Item 601(b)(96) of Regulation S-K.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company may be subject to a variety of claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of business. We are not a party to any litigation as a defendant where a loss contingency is required to be reflected in our consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Price Range of Common Stock

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol OMEX. The following table sets forth the high and low sale prices for our common stock during each quarter presented.

Approximate Number of Holders of Common Stock

The number of record holders of our common stock at January 18, 2023 was approximately 150. This does not include approximately 7,100 stockholders that hold their stock in accounts included in street name with broker/dealers.

Dividends

Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive such dividends as may be declared by our Board of Directors. No dividends have been declared with respect to our common stock and none are anticipated in the foreseeable future.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

There were no unregistered sales of equity securities of the Company’s common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

There were no repurchases of shares of the Company’s common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis is intended to provide a narrative of our financial results and an evaluation of our results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. A description of our business is discussed in Item 1 of this report which contains an overview of our business as well as the status of our ongoing project operations.

Results of Operations

The dollar values set forth in the following tables, except as otherwise indicated, are approximations to the nearest thousands and therefore do not necessarily sum in columns or rows. For more detail refer to the Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in Item 8. The tables identify years 2022, 2021 and 2020, all of which included a twelve-month period ended December 31.

2022 Compared to 2021

Revenue

The revenue generated in each period was a result of performing oceanic research and project administration for our customers and related parties. Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $1.3 million, a $0.4 million increase compared to $0.9 million from the year ended December 31, 2021. We provided these services in both years to a deep-sea mineral exploration company, CIC, which we consider to be a related party since it is owned and controlled by our past Chairman of the Board (see Note 6 Related Party Transactions).

Cost and Expenses

Marketing, general and administrative expenses primarily include all costs within the following departments: Executive, Finance & Accounting, Legal, Information Technology, Human Resources, Marketing & Communications, Sales and Business Development. Costs increased $2.2 million to $8.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $6.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary items contributing to this $2.2 million increase were an increase of $0.5 million in employee benefits and compensation related expenses and an increase of non-cash long term incentive share-based compensation of $0.2 million, offset by a $0.4 million decrease in employee bonuses. Legal and professional fees increased by $0.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively, primarily related to supporting the expansion of our seafloor minerals portfolio. Insurance expenses increased by $0.2 million as a result of increased premiums.

Operations and research expenses are primarily from deep-sea mineral exploration, which includes minerals research, scientific services, marine operations and project management. Operations and research expenses increased by $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily as a result of a $.9 million increase in cost for the Mexican exploration license, a gain on sale of equipment of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 that did not recur, a $0.2 million increase in professional fees and a $0.2 million increases in expenses related to the marine equipment purchase. These increases were offset by a $1.5 million decrease in litigation financed costs directly associated with our NAFTA litigation.

Other Income or Expense

Total other income and expense was $13.8 million and $1.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, resulting in a net expense increase of $12.6 million. This variance was attributable to an increase in interest expense of $3.3 million, driven by an increase in expenses related to our ongoing NAFTA litigation. During 2022, we also recognized a $0.3 million gain on the extinguishment of the Cuota Appreciation Rights awarded to the Board of Directors that expired. For the year ended

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December 31, 2021 several one-time events increased other income including a gain of $5.2 million related to a debt settlement agreement with a creditor that occurred in October 2021 and an increase of $3.8 million of other income previously recorded as deferred revenue as a result of the cancellation of revenue participation rights of the Seattle and Galt Resources projects in 2021. Additionally, in September 2021, a gain of $0.4 million on debt extinguishment was recorded due to the Small Business Administration forgiving our $0.4 million Payroll Protection Program loan.

Income Taxes and Non-Controlling Interest

We did not incur any taxes in 2022, 2021 or 2020.

Starting in 2013, we became the controlling shareholder of Oceanica. Our financial statements thus include the financial results of Oceanica and its subsidiary, ExO. Except for intercompany transactions that are fully eliminated upon consolidation, Oceanica’s revenues and expenses, in their entirety, are shown in our consolidated financial statements. The share of Oceanica’s net losses corresponding to the equity of Oceanica not owned by us is subsequently shown as the "Non-Controlling Interest" in the consolidated statements of operations. The non-controlling interest adjustment in the year ended December 31, 2022 was $7.7 million as compared to $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The substance of these amounts is primarily due to compounding of interest on intercompany debt, the increase in permits fees and other standard operating costs.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Discussion of Cash Flows

Net cash used by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $9.3 million. This represents an approximate $3.8 million increase in use of funds when compared to the use of $5.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Cash flows used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $9.3 million reflected a net loss before non-controlling interest of $30.9 million and is adjusted primarily by an increase in non-cash items of $1.0 million, which primarily includes share-based compensation of $1.8 million, note payable accretion of $0.3 million and the $0.3 million non-cash adjustment loans payable prepayment premium and offset by an investment in unconsolidated entity of $1.2 million. Other operating activities resulted in an increase in working capital of $19.2 million. This $19.2 million increase includes a $14.7 million increase to accrued expenses and an increase of $6.0 million to accounts payable in 2022. The increase in accrued expenses and accounts payable is predominantly related to our NAFTA arbitration.

Cash flows used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $5.4 million reflected a net loss before non-controlling interest of $16.1 million and is adjusted primarily by decrease in non-cash items of $8.8 million, which primarily include a decrease in investment in unconsolidated entity of $0.9 million, gain on debt settlement of $5.2 million, deferred revenue adjustment of $3.8 million, gain on debt extinguishment of $0.4 million and gain on the sale of equipment of $0.3 million offset by share-based compensation of $1.2 million. Other operating activities resulted in an increase in working capital of $19.6 million. This $19.6 million increase includes a $13.7 million increase to accrued expenses and an increase of $6.3 million to accounts payable in 2021. The increase in accrued expenses and accounts payable is predominantly related to our NAFTA financed litigation.

Cash flows used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $2.3 million. This represents an approximate $2.7 million decrease from cash flows provided by investing activities of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2022 the net cash used in investing activities of $2.3 million was for the purchase of property and equipment and loan disbursements.

Cash flows provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $0.3 million was from the sale of property and equipment.

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Cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $10.8 million. The $10.8 million comprises $16.5 million received from the June 2022 issuance of stock and $2.2 million received from the issuance of loans payable offset by the $5.5 million of debt obligation payments and $1.8 million of offering costs associated with the stock issuance.

Cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $1.2 million. The $1.2 million comprises $1.4 million received from our litigation funder related to our NAFTA litigation financed expenses and $0.7 million from the sale of equity in our subsidiary offset by $0.4 million of debt obligation payments and $0.5 million of debt termination fees.

General Discussion 2022

At December 31, 2022, we had cash of $1.4 million, a decrease of ($0.8) million from the December 31, 2021 balance of $2.3 million. On June 10, 2022, we sold an aggregate of 4,939,515 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase up to 4,939,515 shares of our common stock. The net proceeds received from this sale, after offering expenses of $1.8 million, were $14.7 million. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the proceeds from our equity offering were used to repay $5.5 million of debt obligation payments and $1.1 million of self funded NAFTA litigation expenses. Additionally, in 2022 our litigation funder paid, on our behalf, $5.4 million of amounts due to vendors who are supporting our NAFTA litigation as well as directly reimbursing the Company $0.2 million for expended costs related directly to our NAFTA litigation. During March 2021, Epsilon Acquisitions LLC converted its indebtedness comprising $1.0 million of principal and $0.4 million of accrued interest into 411,562 shares of our common stock, and during July 2021, certain creditors converted $1.1 million of our convertible debt and accrued interest of $0.3 million into 283,850 shares of our common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2021, our litigation funder paid, on our behalf, $5.6 million of amounts due to vendors who are supporting our NAFTA litigation as well as directly reimbursing the Company $1.4 million for expended costs related directly to our NAFTA litigation.

Financial debt of the company was $46.7 million at December 31, 2022 and $41.9 million at December 31, 2021. During October 2021 we entered into a Termination and Settlement Agreement with Monaco and SMOM which removed $14.5 million of debt principal and accrued interest from our balance sheet. See Note 10 Loans Payable – Monaco for further detail.

Since SEMARNAT declined to approve the environmental permit application of our Mexican subsidiary in April 2016 and again in October 2018, notwithstanding that the Superior Court of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice ("TFJA") in Mexico nullified SEMARNAT’s 2016 denial, we continue to support the efforts of our subsidiaries and partners to work through the administrative, legal and political process necessary to have the decision reviewed and overturned in the court of the TFJA. On January 4, 2019, we initiated the process to submit a claim against Mexico to arbitration under the investment protection chapter of the NAFTA. On September 4, 2020, we filed our First Memorial with the Tribunal. The First Memorial is the filing that fully lays out our case, witnesses and evidence for the Tribunal. Mexico filed its counter-memorial, which is available on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") website, on February 23, 2021. On June 29, 2021, we filed our reply to Mexico’s counter-memorial. Odyssey’s filings are available at www.odysseymarine.com/nafta. The NAFTA Tribunal hearing took place from January 24 – January 29, 2022. On May 10, 2022, one final witness, whose testimony was delayed due to COVID, testified before the NAFTA Tribunal. In accordance with the procedural calendar, written post hearing briefs were filed in September 2022. The evidentiary phase of the case is now closed.

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2021 Compared to 2020

Revenue

The revenue generated in each period was a result of performing oceanic research and project administration for our customers and related parties. Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $1.1 million to $0.9 million as compared to $2.0 million from the year ended December 31, 2020. We provided services to CIC for both years ended 2021 and 2020. The primary reason for the $1.1 million reduction was that we were no longer engaged on another project since the latter half of 2020. This project accounts for $0.6 million of the reduction. In 2020 we had other marine search engagements for which we earned $0.5 million in revenue. These other marine engagements did not recur in this current year.

Cost and Expenses

Marketing, general and administrative expenses increased $2.6 million to $6.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The items contributing to this $2.6 million increase were an increase of $0.2 million in employee benefits and compensation related, and an increase of non-cash long term incentive share-based compensation of $0.8 million. Legal fees increased by $0.2 million which is primarily related to supporting the expansion of our seafloor minerals portfolio. The remaining $1.4 million was due to a reduction in the discretionary incentive reserve during the prior year resulting from management’s decision to not pay certain discretionary incentives.

Operations and research expenses decreased by $1.4 million to $9.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily as a result of the following items: (i) a $0.3 million decrease in litigation financed costs directly associated with our NAFTA litigation and (ii) a $0.8 million decrease in marine services technical contracted labor in direct correlation with the reduction in revenue contracts that are nonrecurring in 2021 and (iii) the current year ended December 31, 2021 includes a gain on sale of equipment of $0.3 million.

Other Income or Expense

Total other income and expense was $1.2 million in net expenses and $8.5 million in net expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, resulting in a net expense decrease of $7.3 million. This variance was attributable to a $1.2 million decrease from a $0.8 million prior year loss on debt extinguishment to a current year gain of $0.4 million on debt extinguishment. The prior year $0.8 million loss was due to fair value accounting on a refinancing of a loan with a creditor and the current year gain was due to the Small Business Administration forgiving our $0.4 million Payroll Protection Program loan. The other items were a decrease of $0.7 million in derivative fair value expense of our hybrid debt instrument that only existed in 2020, a $3.9 million increase in interest expense mainly attributable to our NAFTA litigation funding, a $4.1 million increase in other income due to removing the balance of our deferred income items from our balance sheet (see Note 12 Deferred Income and Revenue Participation Rights) and a gain of $5.2 million related to a debt settlement agreement with a creditor that occurred in October 2021, see Note 10 Loans Payable – Monaco for further detail.

Income Taxes and Non-Controlling Interest

We did not incur any taxes in 2021, 2020 or 2019.

The non-controlling interest adjustment in the year ended December 31, 2021 was $6.2 million as compared to $6.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The substance of these amounts is primarily due to the compounding of interest on intercompany debt and other standard operating costs.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Discussion of Cash Flows

Net cash used by operating activities for the calendar year of 2021 was $5.4 million. This represents an approximate $3.8 million decrease in use of funds when compared to the use of $9.1 million in the same period of 2020. The current year net cash used by operating activities reflected a net loss before non-controlling interest of $16.1 million and is adjusted primarily by non-cash or non-operating items of $8.8 million, which primarily includes an investment in unconsolidated entity of $0.9 million, share-based compensation of $1.2 million, debt forgiveness of $0.4 million, a gain on sale of equipment of $0.3 million, an adjustment to deferred income of $3.8 million and a gain on the debt settlement agreement of $5.2 million. Other operating activities resulted in an increase in working capital of $19.7 million. This $19.7 million increase includes a $13.7 million increase to accrued expenses, an increase of $6.3 million to accounts payable and a decrease of $0.3 million to other assets and accounts receivable in 2021. The increase to accrued expenses and accounts payable is predominantly related to our NAFTA financed litigation as it pertains to standard litigation payables and accrued interest associated with the litigation financing.

Net cash used by operating activities for 2020 was $9.2 million. The net cash used by operating activities reflected a net loss before non-controlling interest of $21.1 million offset in part by non-cash items of $1.0 million which primarily includes loss on debt extinguishment of $0.8 million, investment in unconsolidated entity of $0.9 million, the fair-value of hybrid-debt accounting of $0.7 million and other which includes items such as depreciation and debt discount accretion for $0.4 million. Other operating activities resulted in an increase in working capital of $10.8 million compared to 2019. Changes to accrued expenses, accounts receivable, accounts payable and other assets in 2020 comprised the $10.8 million. The December 31, 2020 accounts payable balance of $4.5 million is comprised of: a) $3.3 million which pertains to four accounts. These accounts are not related to current operations and are not expected to be settled with cash, b) $0.5 million for our NAFTA litigation and will be funded from our litigation financing facility and c) $0.3 million of standard operating payables that will be settled in the normal course of business.

Cash flows provided by investing activities for the calendar year 2021 were $322,988, which is net of $19,137 of equipment purchases of a marine asset and computer and cash proceeds from the sale of equipment of $342,125.

There were no cash flows from investing activities in 2020.

Cash flows provided by financing activities for the calendar year 2021 were $1.2 million. The $1.2 million is comprised of $0.7 million received from the sale of equity in our subsidiary offset by outflows of $0.5 million for our lease obligation payments and other debt obligation payments. We were reimbursed $1.4 million from our funder related to our NAFTA litigation financed expenses. A $500,000 termination fee was paid in relation to our Termination Agreement (See Note 10 Loans Payable – Monaco).

Cash flows provided by financing activities for 2020 were $15.1 million. The 2020 period $15.1 million was comprised of funds received from our NAFTA litigation financing and funds received from the 37 North agreement. We also received funds from the Small Business Administration (SBA) programs for the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) (Note 10 Loans Payable - Emergency Injury Disaster Loan). These debt proceeds of $3.6 million were offset by $0.2 million of repayments of financed obligations. In August 2020 we sold 2.5 million of our common shares for net-proceeds of $11.3 million (see Note 13 Stockholders' Equity/(Deficit)). During December 2020, we sold $800,000 of new equity in one of our controlled subsidiaries to an existing shareholder of that subsidiary.

General Discussion 2021

At December 31, 2021, we had cash of $2.3 million, a decrease of $3.9 million from the December 31, 2020 balance of $6.2 million. During March 2021, Epsilon Acquisitions LLC converted its indebtedness comprised of $1.0 million of principal and $0.4 million of accrued interest into 411,562 shares of our common stock, and during July 2021, certain creditors converted $1.1 million of our convertible debt and accrued interest of $0.3 million into 283,850 shares of our common stock (See Note 13 Stockholders'

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Equity/(Deficit). Our litigation funder paid, on our behalf, $5.6 million of amounts due to vendors who are supporting our NAFTA litigation as well as directly reimbursing the Company $1.4 million for expended costs related directly to our NAFTA litigation.

Financial debt of the company, excluding any derivative, discounts, hybrid-debt fair value accounting or beneficial conversion feature components of such, was $41.9 million at December 31, 2021 and $42.6 million at December 31, 2020. During October 2021 we entered into a Termination and Settlement Agreement with Monaco and SMOM which removed $14.5 million of debt principal and accrued interest from our balance sheet. See Note 10 Loans Payable – Monaco for further detail.

Because SEMARNAT declined to approve the environmental permit application of our Mexican subsidiary in April 2016 and again in October 2018, notwithstanding that the Superior Court of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice (TFJA) in Mexico nullified SEMARNAT’s 2016 denial, we continue to support the efforts of our subsidiaries and partners to work through the administrative, legal and political process necessary to have the decision reviewed and overturned in the court of the TFJA. On January 4, 2019, we initiated the process to submit a claim against Mexico to arbitration under the investment protection chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). On September 4, 2020, we filed our First Memorial with the Tribunal. The First Memorial is the filing that fully lays out our case, witnesses and evidence for the Tribunal. Mexico filed its counter-memorial, which is available on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) website, on February 23, 2021. On June 29, 2021, we filed our reply to Mexico’s counter-memorial. Odyssey’s filings are available at www.odysseymarine.com/nafta. The NAFTA’s Tribunal hearing took place from January 24 – January 29, 2022. See Litigation Financing below regarding the funding of this litigation, see ITEM 1. BUSINESS for further detail.

Financings

The Company’s consolidated notes payable consisted of the following carrying values and related interest expense at:

Stock Purchase Agreement

On March 11, 2015, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Penelope Mining LLC (the "Investor"), and, solely with respect to certain provisions of the Purchase Agreement, Minera del Norte, S.A. de C.V. ("MINOSA"). The Purchase Agreement provided for us to issue and sell to the Investor shares of our preferred stock in the amounts and at the prices set forth below (the numbers set forth below have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-12 reverse stock split of February 19, 2016):

The closing of the sale and issuance of shares of the Company’s preferred stock to the Investor was subject to certain conditions, including the Company’s receipt of required approvals from the Company’s stockholders (received on June 9, 2015), the receipt of regulatory approval, performance by the Company of its obligations under the Purchase Agreement, receipt of certain third party consents, the listing of the underlying common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the Investor’s satisfaction, in its sole discretion, with the viability of certain undersea mining projects of the Company. Completion of the transaction requires amending the Company’s articles of incorporation to (a) effect a reverse stock split, which was done on February 19, 2016, (b) adjusting the Company’s authorized capitalization, which was also done on February 19, 2016, and (c) establishing a classified board of directors.

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The purchase and sale of 2,916,667 shares of Series AA-1 Preferred Stock at an initial closing and for the purchase and sale of the remaining 5,510,337 shares of Series AA-1 Preferred Stock according to the following schedule, was subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement:

The Investor had the right to elect to purchase all or a portion of the Series AA-1 Preferred Stock before the other dates set forth above. The initial closing and the closing scheduled for March 1, 2016, did not occur because certain conditions to closing were not satisfied or waived. After completing the purchase of all AA-1 Preferred Stock, the Investor would have had the right, but not the obligation, to purchase all or a portion the 7,223,145 shares of Series AA-2 Preferred Stock at any time after the closing price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market has been $15.12 or more for 20 consecutive trading days.

Subject to the terms set forth in the Purchase Agreement, the Lender provided the Company, through a subsidiary of the Company, with a loan of $14.75 million, the outstanding amount of which, plus accrued interest, was to be repaid from the proceeds from the sale of the shares of Series AA-1 Preferred Stock at the initial closing. The outstanding principal balance of the loan at December 31, 2022 was $14.75 million.

The obligation to repay the loan was evidenced by a promissory note (the "Note") in the amount of up to $14.75 million and bore interest at the rate of 8.0% per annum, and, pursuant to a pledge agreement (the "Pledge Agreement") between the Lender and Odyssey Marine Enterprises Ltd., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("OME"), was secured by a pledge of 54.0 million shares of Oceanica Resources S. de R.L., a Panamanian limitada ("Oceanica"), held by OME. On December 15, 2015, the Promissory Note was amended to provide that, unless otherwise converted as provided in the Note, the adjusted principal balance shall be due and payable in full upon written demand by MINOSA; provided that MINOSA agrees that it shall not demand payment of the adjusted principal balance earlier than the first to occur of: (i) 30 days after the date on which (x) SEMARNAT made a determination with respect to the current application for the Manifestacion de Impacto Ambiental relating to our phosphate deposit project, which determination is other than an approval or (y) Enterprises or any of its affiliates withdraws such application without MINOSA’s prior written consent; (ii) termination by Odyssey of the Purchase Agreement; (iii) the occurrence of an event of default under the Note; (iv) March 30, 2016; or (v) if the Investor had terminated the Purchase Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1(d)(iii) thereof, March 30, 2016. On March 18, 2016 the agreements with MINOSA and Penelope were further amended and extended the maturity date of the loan to March 18, 2017 (see Note 10 Loans Payable). The August 10, 2017 amendment to the Purchase Agreement also amended the due date of the Note to a due date which may be no earlier than December 31, 2017, and at least 60 days subsequent to written notice that Minosa intended to demand payment. In December 2017 MINOSA transferred the Note to its parent company, Altos Hornos de México, S.A.B. de C.V. (“AHMSA”) .

On March 3, 2023, Odyssey, AHMSA, MINOSA and Phosphate One LLC (f/k/a Penelope Mining LLC, “Phosphate One” and together with AHMSA and MINOSA, the “AHMSA Parties”) entered into Settlement, Release and Termination Agreement (the “Termination Agreement”).

Pursuant to the Termination Agreement:

The transactions contemplated by the Termination Agreement were completed on March 6, 2023.

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On March 6, 2023, Odyssey entered into a Release and Termination Agreement with a director of the Company, James S. Pignatelli, to terminate and release a portion of the MINOSA 2 Note assigned to Mr. Pignatelli in 2021, the related Note Purchase Agreement (“NPA”) and the Pledge Agreement.

On March 6, 2023, Odyssey issued a new Unsecured Convertible Promissory Note in the principal amount of $500,000 to Mr. Pignatelli of the Company that bears interest at the rate of 10.0% per annum convertible at a conversion price of $3.78 per share. Pursuant to the Release and Termination Agreement with Mr. Pignatelli noted above, he agreed, in exchange for the issuance of this Unsecured Convertible Promissory Note by Odyssey, to release the assigned portion of the MINOSA 2 note issued by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, to Mr. Pignatelli in the principal amount of $404,634 and convertible at a conversion price of $4.35 per share, pursuant to which the outstanding aggregate obligation with accrued interest was $630,231.

Other loans and financing

Litigation Financing

On June 14, 2019, Odyssey and Exploraciones Oceánicas S. de R.L. de C.V., our Mexican subsidiary ("ExO" and, together with Odyssey, the "Claimholder"), and Poplar Falls LLC (the "Funder") entered into an International Claims Enforcement Agreement (the "Agreement"), pursuant to which the Funder agreed to provide funding to the Claimholder to facilitate the prosecution and recovery of the claim by the Claimholder against the United Mexican States under Chapter Eleven of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") for violations of the Claimholder’s rights under NAFTA related to the development of an undersea phosphate deposit off the coast of Baja Sur, Mexico (the "Project"), on our own behalf and on behalf of ExO and United Mexican States (the "Subject Claim"). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Funder agreed to specified fees and expenses regarding the Subject Claim (the "Claims Payments") incrementally and at the Funder’s sole discretion.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Funder agreed to make Claims Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $6,500,000 (the "Maximum Investment Amount"). The Maximum Investment Amount will be made available to the Claimholder in two phases, as set forth below:

Upon exhaustion of the Phase I Investment Amount, the Claimholder will have the option to request Tranche A of the Phase II Investment Amount, consisting of funding up to $3.5 million ("Tranche A Committed Amount"). Upon exhaustion of the Tranche A Committed Amount, the Claimholder will have the option to request Tranche B of the Phase II Investment Amount, consisting of funding of up to $1.5 million ("Tranche B Committed Amount"). The Claimholder must exercise its option to receive the Tranche A Committed Amount in writing, no less than thirty days before submitting a Funding Request to the Funder under Tranche A. The Claimholder must exercise its option to receive the Tranche B Committed Amount in writing within forty-five days after the exhaustion of the Tranche A Committed Amount. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Claimholder agreed that, upon exercising the Claimholder’s option to receive funds under Phase I, Tranche A of Phase II, or Tranche B of Phase II, the Funder will be the sole source of third-party funding for the specified fees and expenses of the Subject Claim under each respective phase and tranche covered by the option exercised, and the Claimholder will obtain funding for such fees and expenses only as set forth in the Agreement. The Funder was due a closing fee of $80,000 for the Phase I Investment Amount, and $80,000 for the Phase II Investment Amount to pay third parties in connection with due diligence and other administrative and transaction costs incurred by the Funder prior to and in furtherance of execution of the Agreement.

Upon the Funder making Claims Payments to the Claimholder or its designees in an aggregate amount equal to the Maximum Investment Amount, the Funder has the option to continue funding the specified fees and expenses in relation to the Subject Claim on the same terms and conditions provided in the Agreement. The Funder must exercise its option to continue funding in writing, within thirty days after the Funder has made Claims Payments in an aggregate amount equal to the Maximum Investment Amount. If the Funder exercises its option to continue funding, the parties agreed to attempt in good faith to amend the Agreement to provide the Funder with the right to provide at the Funder’s discretion funding in excess of the Maximum Investment Amount, in an amount up to the greatest amount that may then be reasonably expected to be committed for investment in Subject Claim. If the Funder declines to exercise its option, the Claimholder may negotiate and enter into agreements with one or more third parties to provide funding, which shall be subordinate to the Funder’s rights under the Agreement.

The Agreement provides that the Claimholder may at any time without the consent of the Funder either settle or refuse to settle the Subject Claim for any amount; provided, however, that if the Claimholder settles the Subject Claim without the Funder’s

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consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed, the value of the Recovery Percentage (as defined below) will be deemed to be the greater of (a) the Recovery Percentage (under Phase I or Phase II, as applicable), or (b) the total amount of all Claims Payments made in connection with such Subject Claim multiplied by three (3).

If the Claimholder ceases the Subject Claim for any reason other than (a) a full and final arbitral award against the Claimholder or (b) a full and final monetary settlement of the claims, including in particular, for a grant of an environmental permit to the Claimholder allowing it to proceed with the Project (with or without a monetary component), all Claims Payments under Phase I and, if Claimholder has exercised the corresponding option, the Tranche A Committed Amount and Tranche B Committed Amount, shall immediately convert to a senior secured liability of the Claimholder. This sum shall incur an annualized internal rate of return ("IRR") of 50.0% retroactive to the date each Funding Request was paid by the Funder (under Phase I), or, to the conversion date for the Tranche A Committed Amount and Tranche B Committed Amount of Phase II if the Claimholder has exercised the respective option (collectively, the "Conversion Amount"). Such Conversion Amount and any and all accrued IRR shall be payable in-full by the Claimholder within 24 months of the date of such conversion, after which time any outstanding Conversion Amounts, shall accrue an ("IRR") of 100.0%, retroactive to the conversion date (the "Penalty Interest Amount"). The Claimholder will execute such documents and take other actions as necessary to grant the Funder a senior security interest on and over all sums due and owing by the Claimholder in order to secure its obligation to pay the Conversion Amount to the Funder. If the Claimholder ceases the Subject Claim due to the grant of an environmental permit (with or without a monetary component), all Claims Payments under Phase 1 and, if the Claimholder has exercised the corresponding option, the Tranche A Committed Amount and Tranche B Committed Amount shall immediately convert to a senior secured liability of the Claimholder and shall incur an annualized an IRR of 50.0% on the Conversion Amount, noted above, from the conversion date. Management has estimated it is more likely than not the Subject Claim will result in the issuance of the environmental permit requiring us to record interest under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Reliance should not be placed on this estimate in determining the likely outcome of the Subject Claim.

If, at any time after exercising its option to receive funds under either Tranche A or Tranche B of Phase II, the Claimholder wishes to fund the Subject Claim with its own capital ("Self-Funding") (which excludes any Claims Payments made, either directly or indirectly, by any other third party), the Claimholder shall immediately pay to the Funder the Conversion Amount, provided that this requirement shall not apply if, after the Funder has made Claims Payments in an aggregate amount equal to the Maximum Investment Amount, the Funder does not exercise its option to provide Follow-On Funding.

In the event of any receipt of proceeds resulting from the Subject Claim (as defined in the Agreement, "Proceeds"), the Funder shall be entitled to any additional sums above the Conversion Amount to which the Funder is entitled as described below. Should the Claimholder cease the Subject Claim as described above after Self-Funding the Claim, accrued IRR and Penalty Interest shall be calculated and paid to the Funder as set forth above. The Funder’s rights to the Recovery Percentage as defined below shall survive any decision by Claimholder to utilize Self-Funding. The parties acknowledged that the Agreement constitutes a sale of the right to a portion of the Proceeds (if any) arising from the Subject Claim as set forth in this Agreement. The Claimholder has relinquished its right to the portion of the proceeds, if any, that the Funder would have the right to as described below. This sale of proceeds is being accounted for under the guidance of ASC 470-10-25 Recognition (Sales of Future Revenues)

On each Distribution Date, distributions of the Proceeds shall be made to the Claimholder and the Funder in accordance with subparagraph (a) or (b) below (the "Recovery Percentage"), as applicable:

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The Agreement provides that if no Proceeds are ever paid to or received by the Claimholder or its representatives and if the environmental permit is not issued, the Funder shall have no right of recourse or right of action against the Claimholder or its representatives, or any of their respective property, assets, or undertakings, except as otherwise specifically contemplated by the Agreement. If (a) Proceeds are paid to or received by the Claimholder or its representatives; (b) such Proceeds are promptly applied and/or distributed by the Claimholder or on behalf of the Claimholder in accordance with the terms of the Agreement; and (c) the amount received by the Funder as a result thereof is not sufficient to pay all of the Recovery Percentage and all of the amounts due to the Funder under the Agreement, then (provided that all of the Proceeds which the Funder will ever be entitled to have been paid to or received by the Funder), the Funder shall have no right of recourse or action against the Claimholder or its Representatives, or any of their property, assets, or undertakings, except as otherwise specifically contemplated by the Agreement. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Claimholder acknowledged the Funder’s priority right, title, and interest in any Proceeds, including against any available collateral to secure its obligations under the Agreement, which security interest shall be first in priority as against all other security interests in the Proceeds. The Claimholder also acknowledged and agreed to execute and authorize the filing of a financing statement or similar and to take such other actions in such jurisdictions as the Funder, in its sole discretion, deems necessary and appropriate to perfect such security interest. The Agreement also includes representations and warranties, covenants, conditions, termination and indemnification provisions, and other provisions customary for comparable arrangements.

Amendment and Restatement (January 31, 2020)

On January 31, 2020, the Claimholder and the Funder entered into an Amended and Restated International Claims Enforcement Agreement (the "Restated Agreement"). The material terms and provisions that were amended or otherwise modified are as follows:

During 2020, the Funder provided us with $2.0 million of the Arbitration Support Funds, and we incurred $200,000 in related fees that were treated as an additional advance. Upon each funding, the proceeds were allocated between debt and equity for the warrants based on the relative fair value of the two instruments. As a result, there was a debt discount of $1,063,811 which is being amortized over the expected remaining term of the agreement using the effective interest method which is charged to interest expense.

Although the warrants only become exercisable upon the occurrence of future events, they are considered issued for accounting purposes and were valued using a binomial lattice model. The expected volatility assumption was based on the historical volatility of our common stock. The expected life assumption was primarily based on management’s expectations of when the Warrants will become exercisable and the risk-free interest rate for the expected term of the warrant is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of measurement.

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Second Amendment and Restatement (December 12, 2020)

On December 12, 2020, the Claimholder and the Funder entered into a Second Amended and Restated International Claims Enforcement Agreement (the "Second Restated Agreement") relating to the Subject Claim. Under the terms of the Second Restated Agreement, the Funder agreed to make Claims Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $20,000,000 (the "Maximum Investment Amount"). The Second Restated Agreement requires the Funder to make Claims Payments in an aggregate amount no greater than $10,000,000 for the purposes of pursuing the Subject Claim to a final award ("Phase III Investment Amount"). We also incurred $200,000 in related fees, which were treated as an additional advance. The Second Restated Agreement includes the same representations and warranties, covenants, conditions, termination and indemnification provisions, and other provisions as in the original agreement.

Third Amendment and Restatement (June 14, 2021)

On June 14, 2021, the Claimholder and the Funder entered into a Third Amended and Restated International Claims Enforcement Agreement (the "Third Restated Agreement") relating to the Subject Claim. Under the terms of the Third Restated Agreement, the Funder has made and agreed to make Claims Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000, an increase of $5.0 million (the "Incremental Amount"). The Third Restated Agreement requires the Claimholder to request $2.5 million of the Incremental Amount (the "First $2.5 Million"). Within 15 days after exhaustion of the First $2.5 Million, the Claimholder may either (a) request the remaining $2.5 million (the "Second $2.5 Million") of the Incremental Amount or (b) notify the Funder that the Claimholder has decided to self-fund the Second $2.5 Million. We also incurred $80,000 in related fees which were treated as an additional advance. This Second Restated Agreement includes the same representations and warranties, covenants, conditions, termination and indemnification provisions, and other provisions as in the original agreement. As of December 31, 2022, the Funder has made Claim Payments in the aggregate amount of $4.8 million.

Litigation Financing Waiver and Consent

On March 6, 2023, the Claimholder and the Funder under the Agreement entered into a Waiver and Consent Agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, (i) the Funder provided a waiver and consent (i) to allow the Claimholder to fund certain costs and expenses arising from the Subject Claim from the Claimholder’s own capital in an aggregate amount not to exceed $5,000,000, and (ii) Odyssey paid a $1,000,000 nonrefundable waiver fee to the Funder.

The December 31, 2022 carrying value of the obligation is $24,347,513 and is net of unamortized debt fees of $146,897 as well as the net unamortized debt discount of $353,996 associated with the fair value of the warrants. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the expense related to debt discount and fee amortization was $295,932 and $146,896, respectively. The total face value of this obligation at December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $24,848,406 and$19,266,818, respectively.

Going Concern Consideration

We have experienced several years of net losses and may continue to do so. Our ability to generate net income or positive cash flows for the following twelve months is dependent upon financings, our success in developing and monetizing our interests in mineral exploration entities, generating income from exploration charters or collecting on amounts owed to us.

Our 2023 business plan requires us to generate new cash inflows to effectively allow us to perform our planned projects. We continually plan to generate new cash inflows through the monetization of our receivables and equity stakes in seabed mineral companies, financings, syndications or other partnership opportunities. If cash inflow ever becomes insufficient to meet our desired projected business plan requirements, we would be required to follow a contingency business plan that is based on curtailed expenses and fewer cash requirements. On June 10, 2022, we sold an aggregate of 4,939,515 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase up to 4,939,515 shares of our common stock. The net proceeds received from this sale, after offering expenses of $1.8 million, were $14.7 million (see Note 13 Stockholders' Equity/(Deficit)). These proceeds, coupled with other anticipated cash inflows, are expected to provide operating funds through early 2023.

Our consolidated non-restricted cash balance at December 31, 2022 was $1.4 million. We have a working capital deficit at December 31, 2022 of $60.7 million. The total consolidated book value of our assets was approximately $13.3 million at December 31, 2022, which includes cash of $1.4 million. The fair market value of these assets may differ from their net carrying book value. The factors noted above raise doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that may be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.

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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not engage in off-balance sheet financing arrangements. In particular, we do not have any interest in so-called limited purpose entities, which include special purpose entities ("SPEs") and structured finance entities.

Indemnification Provisions

Under our bylaws and certain consulting agreements, we have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors for certain events arising as a result of the officer’s or director’s serving in such capacity. Separate agreements may provide indemnification after term of service. The term of the indemnification agreement is as long as the officer or director remains in the employment of the company. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited. However, our director and officer liability insurance policy limits its exposure and enables us to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. As a result of our insurance policy coverage, we believe the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal and no liabilities are recorded for these agreements as of December 31, 2022.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial position and results of operations is based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect our financial position and results of operations. See Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements for a description of our significant accounting policies. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that are reflective of significant judgment and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. We have identified the following critical accounting estimates. We have discussed the development, selection and disclosure of these policies with our audit committee.

Long-Lived Assets

As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $3.0 million of net property and equipment, right to use – operating lease and related assets. Our policy is to recognize impairment losses relating to long-lived assets in accordance with the ASC topic for Property, Plant and Equipment. Impairment decisions are based on several factors, including, but not limited to, management’s plans for future operations, recent operating results and projected cash flows.

Realizability of Deferred Tax Assets

We have recorded a net deferred tax asset of $0 at December 31, 2022. As required by the ASC topic for Accounting for Income Taxes, we have evaluated whether it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. Based on the available evidence, we have concluded that it is more likely than not that those assets would not be realizable without the recovery and rights of ownership or salvage rights of high value shipwrecks or the monetization of our mineral exploration stakes and thus a valuation allowance of $85.3 million has been recorded as of December 31, 2022.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

In determining the collectability of our accounts receivable, we need to make certain assumptions and estimates. Specifically, we may examine accounts and assess the likelihood of collection of particular accounts. Management has elected to record bad debts using the direct write-off method. Generally accepted accounting principles state an estimate is to be made for an allowance for doubtful accounts. The effect of using the direct write-off method, however, is not materially different from the results that would

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have been obtained had the allowance method been followed. If we were to have a recorded allowance, the accounts receivable would be stated net the recorded allowance.

Derivative Financial Instruments

From time to time, we may enter into a financial instrument that may contain a derivative. In evaluating fair value of derivative financial instruments, there are numerous assumptions which management must make that may influence the valuation of the derivatives that would be included in the financial statements.

Exploration License

The Company follows the guidance pursuant to ASU 350, "Intangibles-Goodwill and Other" in accounting for its exploration license. Management determined the rights to use the license to have an indefinite life. This assessment is based on the historical success of renewing the license since 2006, and the fact that management believes there are no legal, regulatory, or contractual provisions that would limit the useful life of the asset. The exploration license is not dependent on another asset or group of assets that could potentially limit the useful life of the exploration license. In the future, the recoverability of the license will be tested whenever circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable per the guidance of ASU 360, "Subsequent Measurement."

Litigation Financing

As discussed in Note 10 Loans Payable to the consolidated financial statements, we have certain litigation financing with detachable warrants that is included in “loans payable” on the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2022 and 2021. The terms of the financing agreement involved numerous amendments, significant non-cash financing, issuance of warrants, and debt issuance costs requiring judgment of the facts and circumstances.

Investment in Unconsolidated Entity

As discussed in Notes 6 and 9 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has a cost investment with a related party. The Company has entered into numerous agreements with the related party that required analysis of ASU 215-2 to determine that the Company was not the primary beneficiary. This analysis required judgment and review of the facts and circumstance to determine the proper accounting for this cost investment. We also reviewed the impairment guidance to determine any potential impairment of the investment.

Contractual Obligations

At December 31, 2022, except as disclosed in Note 16 Commitments and Contingencies regarding our office lease, the Company did not have any other contractual obligations that extended beyond 12 months.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market risk is the exposure to loss resulting from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices and equity prices. We do not believe we have material market risk exposure and have not entered into any market risk sensitive instruments to mitigate these risks or for trading or speculative purposes.

We currently do not have any debt obligations or instruments that expose us to interest rate risk.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The information required by this item appears beginning on page 31.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls are procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, such as this report, are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designated to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to management including our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and implemented, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, as ours are designed to do, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgement in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our CEO and CFO, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(b) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation our CEO and CFO have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes during the year ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

None.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Information concerning Directors and Executive Officers is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the headings "Election of Directors" and "Executive Officers and Directors of the Company" in the Company’s Proxy Statement (the "Proxy Statement") for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 5, 2023.

The Company has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of its employees, including the principal executive officer, the principal financial officer and the principal accounting officer. The Code of Ethics and all committee charters are posted on the Company’s website (www.odysseymarine.com). We will provide a copy of any of these documents to stockholders free of charge upon request to the Company.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The information required by this Item is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the heading "Executive Compensation and Related Information" in the Proxy Statement.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

A portion of the information required by this Item pursuant to Item 403 of Regulation S-K is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the heading "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management" in the Proxy Statement. The information required pursuant to Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the heading "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management" in the Proxy Statement.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The information required by this Item is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the heading "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions" in the Proxy Statement.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The information required by this Item is hereby incorporated by reference to the information under the heading "Independent Public Accounting Firm’s Fees" in the Proxy Statement.

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PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

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INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.

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MANAGEMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f)and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. This process includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to risk that the internal control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and

Stockholders of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year periods ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year periods ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Consideration of the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 16 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred significant losses and may be unsuccessful in raising the necessary capital to fund operations and capital expenditures. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s evaluation of the events and conditions and its plans regarding those matters are also described in Note 16. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Our opinion is not modified with respect to that matter.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Evaluation of Exploration License

As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company recorded an indefinite life intangible exploration license for approximately $1.8 million on the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company has determined that the exploration license has an indefinite useful life. This determination is reviewed annually by management, as well as an annual review

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for impairment. We identified the assessment of the useful life and potential impairment of the exploration license as a critical audit matter due to the assessment involving judgment in determining whether the rights to the license have an indefinite life, and judgment in determining if any triggering events have occurred that would cause the exploration license to be impaired.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

Evaluation of Litigation Financing with Detachable Warrants

As discussed in Note 10 to the financial statements, the Company has certain litigation financing with detachable warrants that is included in "loans payable" on the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2022 and 2021. We identified the litigation financing as a critical audit matter. The terms of the financing agreement were complicated and involved numerous amendments, significant non-cash financing, issuance of warrants, and debt issuance costs. The terms of the financing agreement required significant audit effort in order to fully understand the terms of all the agreements as disclosed in Note 10.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included the following:

Investment in Unconsolidated Entity

As discussed in Notes 6 and 9 to the financial statements, the Company has a cost investment in an entity that is a related party. We identified the cost investment as a critical audit matter. The Company entered into multiple agreements with the related party that required review of the underlying agreements to determine if the Company should consolidate the operations of the entity. Additionally, the cost investment was reviewed for impairment based on a number of qualitative factors. The audit procedures required significant judgement, as well as an understanding of the facts and circumstances to address the proper accounting for the investment.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included the following:

We have served as the Company’s auditors since 2020.

/s/ Warren Averett, LLC

PCAOB ID #2226

Tampa, Florida

March 31, 2023

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ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS