The ‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’ is ready to be recovered from the underside of the ocean – together with its treasures that are believed to be price as much as $20bn in at present’s cash.
The Colombian authorities mentioned the San Jose, which was sunk by the British navy in 1708 off the port of Cartagena, could be recovered as a matter of urgency.
The ship is believed to have sunk with an enormous quantity of treasure aboard, together with 200 tonnes of silver, emeralds and eleven million gold cash.
When the wreck was found in November 2015, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos mentioned the treasure was “probably the most invaluable that has been discovered within the historical past of humanity.”
The San Jose was found by a workforce of navy divers in 2015 mendacity almost 3,100 toes beneath the ocean’s floor.
Photos taken of the wreck by navy divers final yr present the wreck remains to be completely preserved, regardless of mendacity on the ocean’s ground for greater than three centuries.
The Colombian authorities mentioned the ship shall be introduced above water earlier than President Gustavo Petro ends his time period of workplace in 2026.
The San Jose was found by a workforce of navy divers in 2015
(Colombian Armada)
The ship sank together with its treasures that are believed to be price as much as $20billion in at present’s cash
(Colombian Armada)
When the shipwreck is recovered, it’s anticipated that there shall be a dispute over who ought to lay declare to the bounty.
A US salvage consortium known as Glocca Morra claimed to have situated the San Jose in 1981, however the Colombian authorities has disputed this, claiming it independently discovered the galleon with a workforce of divers in 2015, at a special location, which stays secret.
Glocca Morra has claimed it’s owed $10bn by the Colombian authorities and mentioned it has handed over the coordinates of the shipwreck to the Colombian authorities.
The corporate are suing the Colombian authorities for half the treasure, price $10bn, and the arbitration case is presently being heard in London, in keeping with Bloomberg.
The San Jose galleon was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British Navy in 1708
(Colombian Armada)
Nonetheless, Colombian Minister of Tradition Juan David Correa mentioned the federal government’s workforce had visited the coordinates given by the corporate and located no hint of the San Jose.
Spain and Bolivia’s indigenous Qhara Qhara nation additionally declare possession over the ship after, they mentioned, the Spanish pressured their individuals to mine the metals used within the treasure.
The 62-gun and three-masted galleon ship sank after it was intercepted by a British squadron on 8 June 1708 off Cartagena, through the Struggle of the Spanish Succession.
Ceramic jars and different objects from the 300-year-old shipwreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose on the ground of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia
(AP)
Eleven million gold cash are thought to have been on board
(EPA)
There have been 600 sailors on board, all however 11 of whom went down with the ship.
When it sank, the San Jose was transporting plundered gold, silver, emeralds and different valuable stones and metals from the Individuals again to Spain.
Photos recovered final yr present part of the bow lined in algae and shellfish, in addition to the stays of the body of the hull.
Treasure aboard the San Jose is also seen – together with gold ingots and cash, muddy cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese language dinner service. Porcelain crockery, pottery and glass bottles is also seen.
Mr Correa instructed Bloomberg that recovering the ship throughout the subsequent two years is now a precedence for President Petro. “The president has instructed us to select up the tempo,” he mentioned.