An underwater explorer is voicing fears that its $5m investment in creating “treasure maps” of The Bahamas is already being “illegally” exploited by an ex-contractor to locate “in excess of $1.5bn in riches”.
Carl Allen, owner of Walker’s Cay, and his Allen Exploration Group (AEG), are alleging they have obtained evidence showing Dan Porter is using their proprietary data and mapping to launch “an incredible new venture” exploring for treasure and historical artifacts that can be recovered from shipwrecks in Bahamian waters.
The multi-millionaire, in filings with the North Texas federal court, disclosed a February 12, 2025, notice issued to investors in Mr Porter’s company, Maritime Research & Recovery, in which the latter discloses that he is “in the final stages” of sealing an agreement with “Mr Fox of Long Island, Bahamas”, who has purportedly secured a exploration licence from the Government.
‘Mr Fox’s’ full identity is not disclosed in the court papers, but Adrian Fox, the Island Luck co-founder and Fox Group of Companies president and founder, told Tribune Business it is not him. “I have not been granted any licence and I don’t know anything about this,” he said in response to this newspaper’s inquiries.
Mr Porter, in the update to his investors describing “exciting news”, wrote: “A new exploration licence has been officially granted to Mr Fox of Long Island, Bahamas, setting the stage for an incredible new venture. I have been deeply involved in the design of the licensed area and have worked closely with the team to support them throughout this process.
“This region holds multiple high value targets, and we are strategically preparing to begin exploration efforts. Additionally, we are in the final stages of completing our agreement with Mr Fox and his team to establish a strong and mutually respectful working relationship that will ensure the success of this endeavour.
“We have already finalised and tested the recordation system, ensuring seamless tracking data. The database for Mr Fox’s operations is complete, and we have successfully integrated the designated search areas into our software. With remote sensing data acquisition surveys about to begin, this project is officially ready for launch.”
Mr Allen and his company alleged in documents obtained by Tribune Business that one of Mr Porter’s “former crew members advised” them on June 5, 2025, that the “information to design this new licence area” had come from Allen Exploration Group’s research, data and other materials.
The underwater explorer, which is embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with Mr Porter over payments related to the division of artifacts recovered from the sunken Spanish treasure galleon, Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas, has already claimed he has locked them out of the Dropbox folder containing all information related to this search – including dealings with the Bahamian government.
Describing this data as “the modern equivalent of ‘treasure maps'”, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group added: “The treasure maps have the potential to assist salvors in locating sunken treasure not only from the Maravillas, but also from other shipwrecks throughout The Bahamas.
“Over the past several years, defendants compiled an extensive archive of maps, historical research, underwater surveys and other material at a cost of nearly $5m, including by purchasing the archives of other noted salvors who worked for decades to compile their material.
“Plaintiffs [Mr Porter and Maritime Research and Recovery] have illegally retained this material, acting on ‘the advice of counsel’, and they now claim they obtained this material through ‘discovery’. Defendants are seeking the return of this material via their counterclaim for breach of contract,” they continued.
“Defendants see no legitimate reason why opposing counsel should retain their confidential and proprietary information, including documents comprising an actual treasure map to riches they claim are worth in excess of $1.5bn, either during or after the conclusion of this litigation.” The North Texas court has subsequently issued a ‘protective order’ governing how “confidential material” is to be used.
Mr Porter, meanwhile, has hit back by asserting that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group have inflicted “irreparable” harm and financial losses on himself by bad-mouthing him to other members of the tight-knit global salvaging and exploration industry.
He is alleging that the resulting “reputational damage” has cost Maritime Research & Recovery exploration opportunities in The Bahamas by prompting officials to “stall or revoke” his work permit and order that his vessels leave this nation’s waters. However, such a claim is somewhat undercut by his February 12, 2025, missive touting the potential joint venture with ‘Mr Fox’.
“Allen and Allen Exploration Group have used the influence they have acquired with high-ranking Bahamian officials to stall or revoke the renewal process for Porter to have a renewal of his Bahamian work license – a pre-requisite for him to work on other available salvage efforts in The Bahamas,” Mr Porter and Maritime Research & Recovery alleged in their revised lawsuit.
“Allen and Allen Exploration Group have used their influence they have acquired with high-ranking Bahamian officials to demand that Porter remove his vessels from Bahamian waters and, once he did, the defendants implemented their plan to use Customs and Federal agencies in the US to interdict those vessels as they entered the US, to board and search them for stolen treasure so that the boats could be confiscated and have Porter detained or arrested.
“Porter and his vessels were interdicted by American law enforcement agents after they left The Bahamas and, after thoroughly searching, no treasure or antiquities were found and the boats were released. Not by coincidence, an Allen Exploration Group employee “just happened to be” sitting by the pier as the vessels were interdicted almost as if he knew the interdiction would happen at that very time,” they added.
“As a result of those intentional acts, the plaintiffs have been unable to secure projects they were promised in The Bahamas by other salvage-related companies. Additionally, they were denied a large capital investment they had been promised due to the false statements being made.
“The reputational damages caused by the defendants’ actions to the plaintiffs is irreparable and will continue to cost plaintiffs monetary losses in the millions of dollars. The emotional cost to Porter is extreme – he has in essence been locked out of his career as a result of the defendants’ unfounded statements and actions.”
However, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration Group rejected the claims and asserted that Mr Porter cannot “plausibly” claim he would have received contracts but for their purported interference. “Plaintiffs do not plausibly allege this element, and instead make only vague allegations about past relationships with the Bahamian government and with other salvage contractors in The Bahamas,” they argued.
“This is not a plausible allegation that Porter or Maritime Research & Recovery would have entered into an agreement with the Bahamian government.” Mr Porter, in initiating legal action, alleged that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration sought to hire his expertise and skills to assist with the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas exploration and recovery because they lacked the necessary knowledge at that time.
He claims the two parties agreed “a treasure recovery operation” where Mr Porter and his firm would receive 30 percent of the artifacts recovered once the Bahamian government had taken its share. He is alleging that Mr Allen and Allen Exploration have reneged on their deal and are now refusing to pay Maritime Research & Recovery’s rightful share of $10m in “undivided treasure” that has been recovered.
“Our agreement stipulated that Maritime Research & Recovery was entitled to 25 percent of the recoveries after the Government of The Bahamas received its share, and we fully intend to uphold that agreement,” Mr Porter said in his February 2025 letter to investors, referring to a lower percentage than that claimed in the original lawsuit.
However, Mr Allen and Allen Exploration countered by asserting their contractor “failed to use money he was given to pay the Government for multiple work permits to pay for any work permit except his own”. They also alleged he used their money to pay personal expenses, while using vessels and crew hired by AEX on salvage work for others while “rarely” going to explore the Nuestra site in winter despite being paid to do so.