The process of recovering the world’s largest underwater treasure off the coast of Colombia, which includes silver bars, gold coins and emerald chests, will begin in April.
More than $17 billion worth of gold, silver and emeralds lie 600 meters below sea level, where the legendary Spanish sailing ship San Jose sank
It sank in 1708 near the city of Cartagena. Armed with 64 cannons, San Jose carried treasures collected in South American colonies, as Spanish King Philip V needed money to finance the War of the Spanish Succession. On 8 June, the fleet, commanded by the San José, consisting of 3 warships and 14 merchant ships, collided with the English fleet. It turned out that the enemy of the San Jose was the leading British ship armed with 70 guns. A shell fired by English artillery landed in the gunpowder store of the Spanish ship, and as a result of the explosion and fire on board, the “San José” sank, and only 11 sailors out of 600 crew members survived.
Active searches began more than 40 years ago, when the American company Glocca Morra offered its services to the Colombian government to search for the missing vessel. Under the agreement, the treasure was to be divided equally. The very expensive search campaign, where $10 million was spent, allegedly was crowned with success, and in 1981 Glocca Morra announced that the remains of the San Jose had been found at a depth of 300 meters. Colombian authorities immediately changed the rules of the deal and reduced the company’s stake to 5 percent.
It was then that a battle over treasures broke out, perhaps even more fierce than the War of the Spanish Succession. Glocca Morra specialists were prevented from approaching the missing ship. But the Colombians themselves were not technically prepared to raise gold from these depths. The case was suspended. But this was only the first part of the play.
The second part of it began in 2015, when the Colombian government unexpectedly announced that it had found for itself a sunken treasure, but in a completely different place from the one indicated by the sailors of Glocca Morra. And at another depth of 600 meters. The exact coordinates were immediately described as confidential.
After Gustavo Petro was elected president in 2022, Colombia’s government changed its position. In a March 19 statement, authorities said they viewed the sunken ship not as an opportunity to “raise money” but as a cultural monument.
Colombia’s culture ministry said the government has received $7.3 million for the first expedition in April and May, in which a remote-controlled hydrorobot will descend to the seabed and try to lift not only gold coins or silver bullion, but ceramics, pieces of wood and shells.
Based on photographs and videos, specialists will then accurately map the location of the ship’s treasures and wreckage. Until then, experts will look for a way to lift the ship and its cargo to the surface. The main condition is not to damage the artifacts and the ship itself.