But instead of historic analysis and awe, valuables from the San Jose will be welcomed from the sea amid a tense worldwide legal battle.
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Nautical Historian Daniel de Narváez Mcallister told El Espectador newspaper that the San José is the Holy Grail for treasure hunters because it was carrying the accumulation of six years worth of gold and silver being sent back to Spain – making it the most valuable shipwreck in the Western Hemisphere. But before the San Jose could be boarded, it exploded and sank with the loss of all but 11 of its 600 crew and passengers.
The company, whose subsidiary claimed in the early 1980s that it had found the galleon’s final resting place, was engaged in a long-running battle with the government of Colombia.
The San Jose was sunk in June 1708 near the Islas del Rosario, off Colombia’s Caribbean coast, during combat with British ships attempting to take its cargo, as part of the War of Spanish Succession.
At a press conference Saturday held in the port city of Cartagena, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos did not disclose the exact location of the San Jose galleon and how it was discovered, calling it a state secret, according to reports.
Two years later, Colombia’s government overturned well-established maritime law that gives 50 per cent to whoever locates a shipwreck, slashing Sea Search’s take down to a 5 per cent “finder’s fee”.
‘We will build a great museum here in Cartagena, ‘ Santos said on national television from Cartagena’s naval base.
The find was not confirmed and a USA court ultimately ruled it was Colombian property.
The fight over San Jose’s sunken treasure is one of many worldwide disagreements regarding the home of ancient artifacts.
A team of Colombian and foreign researchers, including a veteran of the group that discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, studied winds and currents of the Caribbean 307 years ago and delved into colonial archives in Spain and Colombia searching for clues. SSA said in 1981 it had located the area where the ship sank.
Discovery confirmed The discovery – about 25km off Cartagena at a depth of about 300m – was confirmed on November 27th by an global team led by the Colombian institute of anthropology and history and the Colombian navy.
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Sea Search and the Colombian government initially worked hand-in-hand, agreeing to split the value of recovered treasure.
