On a sunny day in 1708, the Spanish majestic sailing ship San Jose set sail, and its cabin contained countless treasures from the South American colonies – 200 tons of gold and silver coins, and 100 boxes full of jade jewelry. The giant ship that sailed from Panama in Portobello to its native Spain did not foresee the fate of the event.
On their way to Cartagena, on the Caribbean coastline of Colombia, a naval battle broke out when a British naval team suddenly appeared on the horizon. Tragedy struck: the San Jose suffered a heavy blow, the ship's powder magazine was set on fire, and with an earth-shattering bang, the treasure-laden sailing ship and nearly 600 crew members sank under the blue waves on June 8. Today, the wealth that slumbers on the seabed is worth an estimated $17 billion, making the San Jose one of the most precious shipwrecks in history, and the "Holy Grail of Shipwrecks", with archaeological and historical significance.
Over the years, countries and expedition agencies around the world have joined the treasure hunt. Finally, at the end of 2015, Colombia** made a heart-pounding announcement: their navy had discovered the wreck of the San Jose in deep waters off the coast of the Rosario Islands. In order to protect this important finding, the exact location is not disclosed, but rather treated
In June 2022, an expedition team used a remotely operated vehicle to go deep to the bottom of the ocean and capture the first images of the San Jose, a vessel that has been dormant in the deep sea for more than 300 years, already covered in seaweed and shellfish.
Other images also show that some of the shipwreck's treasures are still intact: piles of gold coins, and even good Chinese porcelain and pottery.
This discovery is undoubtedly blood-pumping news! Two years later, Colombia took it a step further and decided to officially start salvage work on the San Jose. Based on weather and sea condition assessments, this historic deep-sea salvage program is expected to begin in April or May this year. They plan to invest advanced underwater robots to operate 600 meters under the sea, and plan to take part of the treasure within this year. The budget for this massive project alone is more than $4.5 million. ** Says the salvage mission will not work with any private enterprises, and they want to rely on state resources to accomplish this mission to secure ownership interests.
But not everyone is positive about the salvage plan. There are concerns that the treasures aboard the San Jose have undergone physical and chemical transformations after more than three centuries of immersion in seawater, and may decompose quickly when salvaged from the water. UNESCO's experts on the protection of underwater cultural heritage have also expressed concern, fearing that Colombia may be in a hurry to convert these treasures into cash and ignore their historical value, which could lead to irreparable loss of cultural heritage, and have therefore been strongly opposed to salvage operations.
Colombia** responded to the concerns of the outside world, emphasizing that the main purpose of the salvage operation was to respect and protect cultural heritage. Experts say the goal of the expedition is not only to find treasure, but also to unravel the story of the 600 crew members. It was also emphasized that the salvage process would minimize damage to the ship's hull and that the first phase of the study would focus on the exploration of the deep-sea waters around the wreck to collect important data. Follow-up actions will be planned in detail based on the results and responses of the first phase.
Although Colombia** has been very cautious in its handling of this operation, it is hoped that these treasures will be safely rediscovered in front of the world and will bring a great fortune to Colombia.
However, it is still unclear whether the wealth of this seabed will fully belong to Colombia. Several countries have been at loggerheads for years over the ownership of these "incalculable treasures". Spain insisted that the treasures belonged to them, after all, the San Jose belonged to Spain. Bolivia, on the other hand, argued that their ancestors had been forced to collect these ** and treasures for the Spaniards, and therefore that the wealth should belong to them. The American salvage company Sea Search Armada also claimed that it had discovered the location of the San Jose as early as 1981 and had notified Colombia of the coordinates on the condition that they would receive half of the salvaged property. However, this claim was officially denied by Colombian officials, so the two sides are still negotiating.
It is expected that once the salvage operation is successful, the battle over the property surrounding these treasures may become more intense.
Who do you think the final treasure will be?