Plan to salvage ‘holy grail’ of shipwrecks containing billions of dollars in treasure is approved three centuries after ship sank

More than three centuries after the legendary San Jose Galleon As the wreck sank off the coast of Colombia laden with gold, silver and emeralds, the country has officially approved a plan to recover the wreck and its treasures, officials announced this week.

Called “Holy Grail” of shipwrecksThe 316-year-old wreck has been controversial since its inception Discovered in 2015because it is both an archaeological and economic treasure – estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

“For the first time in history, a model of comprehensive public management of the archaeological site and cultural heritage is being advanced, protected through regulations and public missionality,” the Colombian government said in a press release on Tuesday.

Colombians will invest more than $1 million in the recovery process, which is expected to begin next month, officials said.

Last month, Culture Minister Juan David Correa told Agence France-Presse that a Underwater robot would be sent to recover some of his premium.

Between April and May, the robot retrieved some items from the “surface of the galleon” to see “how they materialize when they come out (of the water) and to understand what we can do” about the rest to recover the treasures. Correa said.

The robot will work at a depth of 600 meters to remove items such as ceramics, pieces of wood and shells “without altering or damaging the wreckage,” Correa told AFP aboard a large naval ship.

The location of the expedition is kept secret to protect suspicion one of the largest archaeological finds in the story of malicious treasure hunters.

The galleon “San Jose” was the property of the Spanish Crown when it was sunk by the British Navy near Cartagena in 1708. Only a handful of her 600-man crew survived.

The ship had returned from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain, loaded with treasures such as chests full of emeralds and around 200 tons of gold coins.

Before Colombia announced the discovery in 2015It has long been sought after by treasure hunters.

The expedition to recover the shipwreck comes as a case before the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration between Colombia and the US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada, which claims to have first found the wreck over 40 years ago .

In June 2022, Colombia announced that a remotely operated vehicle had landed 900 meters below the ocean’s surface New pictures of the wreck.

The video showed the best look yet at the treasure found aboard the San Jose – including gold bars and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service.

At the time, Reuters reported that the remotely operated vehicle also discovered two other shipwrecks in the area, including a schooner believed to be about two centuries old.