Shipwreck hunters descend on Colombia for mythical galleon with hidden treasures

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Colombia’s authorities has introduced plans for a deep-water expedition to discover the mythical galleon San José, sunk within the 18th century and believed to comprise cargo valued at billions of {dollars}.

The ship is believed to carry 11 million gold and silver cash, emeralds and different valuable cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, which may very well be value billions of {dollars} if ever recovered.

It is the primary part of a scientific analysis into deep waters that goals at gathering data to find out which items are appropriate and doable to extract. The wreckage is 600 meters deep within the sea.

Colombia positioned the galleon in 2015 but it surely has since been mired in authorized and diplomatic disputes, and its actual location is a state secret.

Colombia’s authorities says it can make investments round $4.5 million this 12 months in an archaeological exploration of the 62-gun, three-masted galleon that sank in 1708 after being ambushed by an English squadron on its approach to Cartagena.

For the primary part of the investigation, the Colombian authorities doesn’t intend to accomplice with non-public firms, stated Alhena Caicedo Fernández, basic director of the Colombian Institute of Archeology and History (ICANH) throughout a symposium on the galleon held Friday in Cartagena.

The expedition would begin in spring relying on climate circumstances.

Hermann León Rincón, a Navy Rear Admiral and oceanographer, informed reporters the expedition entails submerging robotic gear that’s related to a Navy ship. From there, utilizing cameras and holding an in depth report of its actions, he stated, the robotic shall be positioned in connection with a satellite tv for pc that’s in geostationary orbit.

The robotic system was acquired by Colombia in 2021 and has the capability to descend as much as 1,500 meters (4,900 toes) deep.

Carlos Reina Martínez, archaeologist and chief of the submerged cultural heritage of ICANH, stated the operation seeks to find what life was like for the 600 individuals on board the boat when it sank and to check every day life, the cargo, artillery and merchandise of the colonial period in America.

“It is time to assert the heritage parts for which the stays of the galleon must be valued,” said Juan David Correa, Colombia’s minister of culture, who insisted that the value of the wreck is patrimonial and not monetary. “History is the treasure.”

The ship has been the subject of a legal battle in the U.S., Colombia and Spain over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.

Colombia’s authorities stated Thursday that it formally started arbitration litigation with Sea Search Armada, a bunch of American buyers, for the financial rights of the San José. The agency claims $10 billion comparable to what they assume is value 50% of the galleon treasure that they declare to have found in 1982.