Researchers preparing to mount a first-of-its-kind raising of an 18th-century shipwreck from tropical seas have described themselves as ‘pioneers’ – but insist they aren’t thinking about treasures worth billions on board.
The Spanish galleon of San Jose sank off the coast of Cartagena in 1708, as its powder magazines detonated during a skirmish with the British Navy.
It has been described as the ‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks,’ because its 600-strong crew was carrying up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds valued at around $20billion (£15billion).
Its exact location remained a state secret for nearly a decade to prevent private firms and pirates from attempting to plunder the treasures for themselves.
But Colombian authorities finally announced last month that an expedition will be launched in a matter of weeks to recover these hidden treasures from the deep sea with the aid of an underwater robot.
Alhena Caicedo, director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, said a project of this scale has never been attempted – but insisted her team is interested in the historical revelations that could be made, not the discovery of loot.
‘There has been this persistent view of the galleon as a treasure trove. We want to turn the page on that… We aren’t thinking about treasure. We’re thinking about how to access the historical and archaeological information at the site,’ she told The Guardian.
‘This is a huge challenge and it is not a project that has a lot of precedents. In a way, we are pioneers.’
The ‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks,’ housing up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds valued at $20 billion, is set to be retrieved from the deep sea with the aid of an underwater robot
The Spanish galleon San Jose sank off the Colombian port of Cartagena in 1708, as its powder magazines detonated during a skirmish with the British. Onboard were treasures worth billions of dollars, along with 600 sailors
Colombian Rear-admiral Herman Ricardo Leon (L) and Colombian Director of Anthropologic and History Institute Alhena Caicido deliver a press conference at the Navy Museum in Cartagena, Colombia, on February 23, 2024
Nearly a decade after the Colombian government disclosed the discovery, authorities announced on Friday that an expedition will embark on the recovery of these hidden treasures. Pictured: crews searching for the shipwreck
Spain and Britain were fighting the War of the Spanish Succession at the time and the Royal Navy was approaching dominance on the high seas when it sent the San Jose to the bottom
Culture Minister Juan David Correa said that the underwater robot, scheduled to operate between April and May, will extract items from the exterior of the galleon.
The first step is to see ‘how they materialise when they come out (of the water) and to understand what we can do’ to continue the mission, Correa said.
Authorities have kept secrecy about the mission’s location, but the scientific ship in charge of exploring the treasure was seen anchored at the dock of the ACR Bolivar naval base in Cartagena, Colombia, on Friday.
The operation is expected to cost more than $4.5million (£3.5million), but the value of items recovered from the shipwreck could be ‘incalculable’, according to Correa.
In 2015, the Colombian government announced that a team of navy divers had discovered the legendary ship lying in nearly 3,100 feet of water.
And in 2022, another team brought back jaw-dropping images of its perfectly preserved cargo.
But the discovery of the galleon has since sparked an almighty fight over who owns the wreck, with a US firm claiming it found the boat and demanding half the loot. Also laying claims, are the Spanish government and an indigenous group.
American research company, Glocca Morra, claims it found the San Jose in 1981 and turned the coordinates over to the Colombians on the condition it would receive half the fortune once the vessel was recovered.
But this was countered in 2015 by Colombia’s then-President Juan Manuel Santos who said the Navy had found the boat at a different location on the seabed.
Glocca Morra, now called Sea Search Armada, is suing for half the treasure – around $10billion (£7.6billion) according to estimates – under the US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, according to Bloomberg.
Authorities have kept secrecy about the mission’s location, but the scientific ship in charge of exploring the treasure was seen anchored at the dock of the ACR Bolivar naval base in Cartagena, Colombia, on Friday
The discovery of the galleon has since sparked an almighty fight over who owns the wreck, with a US firm claiming it found the boat and demanding half the loot. Also laying claims, are the Spanish government and an indigenous group
But Correa said the government’s team had visited the coordinates given by Sea Search Armada and found no trace of the San Jose.
Complicating matters further, there are competing claims from the Spanish – whose Navy the vessel belonged to – and Bolivia’s indigenous Qhara Qhara nation which says its people were forced to mine the gold and jewels, so the treasures belong to them.
‘Not only for the symbolic issue but more for the spiritual issue. We just want our ancestors to be at peace,’ native leader Samuel Flores told AFP.
Meanwhile, Colombia has hailed the find as a huge historic and cultural achievement.
Correa told Bloomberg last year: ‘This is one of the priorities for the Petro administration. The president has told us to pick up the pace.’
The idea is ‘to stop considering that we are dealing with a treasure that we have to fight for as if we were in colonial times, with the pirates who disputed these territories,’ Correa, the culture minister, said.
The robot will work at a depth of 600 meters to remove items ‘without modifying or damaging the wreck’
The operation is expected to cost more than $4.5million, but the value of items recovered from the shipwreck could be ‘incalculable’, according to Correa
The 62-gun galleon was sailing from Portobelo in Panama at the head of a treasure fleet of 14 merchant vessels and three Spanish warships when it encountered the British squadron near Barú.
Spain and Britain were fighting the War of the Spanish Succession at the time and the Royal Navy was approaching dominance on the high seas when it sent the San Jose to the bottom.
Images recovered in 2022 show a part of the bow clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.
The images offer the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose – including gold ingots and coins, muddy cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service.
Porcelain crockery, pottery and glass bottles can also be seen.