The ‘holy grail of shipwrecks’ is called the ship San José, which sunk near Cartagena in Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petro wants the centuries-old Spanish galleon, with an expected treasure worth billions on board, to be resurfaced before the end of his term in 2026. Speed up, because there are privateers on the coast.
About 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds and millions of coins are believed to be in the San José shipwreck. All together good for a current value between an estimated 3.5 to 18 billion euros.
The legendary 62-gun Spanish flagship was sailing from Portobelo, Panama, to Cartagena in 1708 at the head of a treasure fleet of 14 merchant ships and three Spanish warships, when it encountered a British squadron off the coast of the Baru Peninsula, south of Cartagena, Colombia . A fight ensued and the gunpowder warehouse exploded. In addition to the alleged treasures that the Spaniards had captured in Latin America in the previous six years, on June 8, 1708, 589 of the 600 sailors on board also disappeared with the ship to the seabed. Only eleven crew members could be saved.
Not only Colombia has been claiming ownership of the San José for decades, but also Spain, the Bolivian indigenous group Qhara Qhara, and the American salvage company Glocca Morra, which claims to have been the first to find the wreck in 1981. Glocca Morra, today called Sea Search Armada, passed on the coordinates to Colombia at the time with the condition that half of the very valuable cargo would go to them. Qhara Qhara then reclaims the treasure because their people had been forced to mine the gold and jewels on board. And Spain? In 1708 the ship belonged to the Spanish King Philip V, hence their claim.
In 2015, the Colombian government announced that navy divers had discovered the legendary shipwreck at a depth of 200 meters, but in a different location than Sea Search Armada had indicated. The exact location remains a state secret. But the American company saw it differently and, according to Bloomberg, went to court to claim half of the treasure, i.e. 10 billion dollars or more than 9 billion euros.
Last year, a Colombian diving team surfaced with impressive images of the San José’s perfectly preserved cargo. And now the country clearly wants to hurry to salvage the ship before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term in 2026, with the help of the private sector. “This is one of the government’s priorities,” said Culture Minister Juan David Correa.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.