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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...pwreck-treasure-Colombia-20-billion.html

San Jose shipwreck to dubbed 'the Holy Grail' to be exhumed off Colombia with $20 billion sunken treasure
Colombia declares the wreck will be raised before President Gustavo Petro's term of office ends in 2026
Around 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds are thought to be on board the legendary Spanish flagship which sunk during a skirmish with the British in 1708
But Colombia faces competing claims from Spain, Bolivia, and a US company which claims it found it first
By DOMINIC YEATMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 01:35 EST, 6 November 2023 | UPDATED: 07:40 EST, 6 November 2023


The 'Holy Grail of shipwrecks' containing up to 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds could be floating on the Caribbean within months after Colombia declared a national mission to recover the treasure.

The Spanish galleon San Jose sank off the Colombian port of Cartagena after its powder magazines detonated during a skirmish with the British in 1708.

On board were treasures worth up to $20 billion in today's money along with 600 sailors, all but 11 of whom went down with the ship.

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. Last year, another team brought back jaw-dropping images of its perfectly preserved cargo.

Now, the Colombian government has said it will be raised before President Gustavo Petro ends his term of office in 2026.

'This is one of the priorities for the Petro administration,' Culture minister Juan David Correa told Bloomberg.

'The president has told us to pick up the pace.'

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 last year 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.

The equipment used for searching of the remains of the galleon San Jose submerged almost 3,100 feet under the Colombian Caribbean Sea. It was operated by naval officials

An intact Chinese dinner set and other crockery were amongst the ship's treasures



The wreck was discovered in 2015 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution but ownership is disputed by Spain, Colombia and Bolivia's indigenous Qhara Qhara nation who say the Spanish forced the community's people to mine the precious metals, so the treasures should belong to them.

Colombia also faces a $10 billion claim from US company Glocca Morra which claims to have discovered the wreck in 1981 and handed its co-ordinates to the Colombian government on the promise of half the cargo's value.

Colombia claims a search of the co-ordinates produced nothing but the company — now called Sea Search Armada — believes the country found the wreck in the same debris field it had discovered 34 years earlier.

WHAT WAS THE SAN JOSE GALLEON AND WHY DID IT SINK?
The San Jose was a 62-gun, three-masted galleon that went down on June 8, 1708, with 600 people on board

It was one of many Spanish galleons that made trips between Europe and the Americas between the 16th and 18th Century

When it sank, the San Jose was transporting plundered gold, silver, emeralds and other precious stones and metals from the Americans back to Spain

This wealth was helping finance Spain's war of succession against Britain

The ship gained a reputation as the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks and was carrying one of the most valuable hauls of treasure ever lost at sea - worth around £12.6 billion ($17 billion)

Why did it sink?

The San Jose galleon was sailing from Portobelo, Panama as the flagship of a treasure fleet of 14 merchant vessels and three Spanish warships when it encountered a British squadron

The San Jose was tracked down 16 miles (26km) off Cartagena, near Barú, by English Commodore Charles Wager from the Royal Navy on 8 June 1708

A fight ensued, known as 'Wager's Action'

Sources say that Wager initially planned to take control of the Spanish ship's crew and cargo

However, the powder magazines on San Jose detonated, destroying the treasure-laden ship before it could be captured

Most of the 600 souls aboard perished when the vessel sank

The British prevented the Spanish fleet from transporting the gold and silver to Europe in order to fund further war efforts but the loot would have been vast if they had managed to capture the ship

I guess they won't need our cocaine money anymore.

It's almost not worth it to be a sunken treasure hunter. You put in all the work, and nations quibble over which one of them owns it after you bring it up.

Ain't that the truth. Tommy Thompson is still in jail after recovering the loot from the SS Central America. He has defied court orders to turn over the gold so the claimants can fight over it.

They'll have to fight for it, as Senator Bob Mendez has claimed ownership.

Dunno if any of you fellas have experience in the world of treasure diving, but recovering that loot will be a very challenging endeavor. 3,100’? LMAO!

Send the Ukranians down there to get that stuff...................

I imagine only remote controlled machines can go that deep.

Boy, a lot of clams there!

I have done my share and it is worth it. You just have to steal as much as you can before the politicians steal the rest.

I imagine that's true (that's what I'd do), but they shouldn't have to be put in that position.

There must be a few idiots left like the ones who added to the Titanic death toll a few months ago, who would be willing to go after the loot!

It's not stealing if you find it.

Exactly. Stealing from a thief isn't stealing.

It should be international law that if you have a claim on treasure that went down at sea, you have 25 years to recover it. After that, it belongs 100% to whoever finds it and does the work of recovering it.

I wasn't aware there were ships large enough back then to hold 62 cannon, 600 men, and 200 tons of cargo along with everything else they needed to operate and survive at sea.

Here is a good story: I live in a small town of the south Oregon coast right above the California border. There is an 8 mile long reef that extends out from land at the border area. In 1865 there was a large steamship, The Brother Jonathan, carrying 200 passengers that headed from San Fran to Seattle. It was LOADED with gold for banks, army payroll and a big payment for land purchase from Indians, plus unaccounted private funds. The ship wrecked on the reef and sank in 200 ft of water (scuba depth). Some people survived and made it to shore. It still holds the record as the largest maritime disaster on the west coast.
Can you believe that this wreck laid there missed by all the top treasure hunters of the 70's-90's!! However some adventurous and enterprising guys figured out a way to cream it not too long ago and they got away with it. They then reported it to the California state and claimed salvage to get the rest of the loot which required non-clandestine stationary surface vessel support. There is no record of exactly how much was found on the 'official' state salvage operation and how much the state received!
So yeah - if you find an old wreck you are not stealing as it is abandoned and 'lost goods'. Fruck the government crooks. More power to those guys and their mini self propelled sub!!

I believe it still is international law that if the ship found was a warship, it is still the property of the nation who’s flag it flew.

LaSalle’s ship “La Belle” found in Matagorda Bay was a warship and is therefore the property of France. There exist a letter of agreement or understanding or something stating the French govt will allow the remains to stay in Texas and be conserved there at the museum in Austin.

Edit. Finally got to see the published report on La Belle. Archaeologist son has a copy for work. It is both immense and awesome.