TAMPA, Fla. - September 26, 2005 - Odyssey Marine Exploration (AMEX: OMR), a leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, announced today that the Company's Board of Directors approved the immediate vesting of "underwater" stock options previously granted to employees under Odyssey's 1997 Employee Stock Option Plan.

As a result of the vesting acceleration, options to purchase 212,500 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share are now immediately exercisable. None of the options are held by the Company's Board of Directors or Officers other than options to purchase a total of 75,000 shares held by the Company's CFO and COO which would have vested by July 22, 2006.

Odyssey accelerated the vesting of these options so the Company would not have to recognize compensation expense in future financial periods on these currently "out-of-money" options, as will be required by the adoption of FASB Statement No. 123R ("Share-based Payment") on January 1, 2006.

"We vested the 'underwater' options to avoid recognizing compensation expense for them in future periods. By taking this approach, which several other companies have adopted, we expect to eliminate a charge to our income statement of approximately $680,000 during 2006 and $40,000 in 2007. We believe this action is in the best long-term interest of the Company and its shareholders," said John C. Morris, Odyssey Marine's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration

Odyssey Marine Exploration is an American Stock Exchange Company (Ticker symbol: OMR) with several shipwreck projects in various stages of development throughout the world including the "Atlas" and Sussex projects. Additional information about Odyssey, its projects and equipment, is available at shipwreck.net.

For more information, please contact John McNeilly, Manager of Corporate Communications, at 813-876-1776 (ext. 2553).