Illustration of the “San José”: After decades of searching, a team of researchers discovered the wreck off the coast of Colombia in 2015
Photo: Ricardo Maldonado Rozo/dpa
The Colombian government wants to conduct an expedition to recover items of “invaluable value” from the wreck of the galleon “San José”.
This was announced by Minister of Culture Juan David Correa.
The ship is one of the most spectacular wrecks in underwater archeology and is considered the “Holy Grail among treasure ships”.
Historians estimate that the galleon may have had seven to eleven million gold and silver coins on board, as well as tons of precious stones, when it sank in 1708 after an attack by an English squadron.
The wreck was discovered nine years ago off the Colombian coast - at a depth of 600 meters.
Now a diving robot will be sent into the depths to recover parts of the treasure, explained Culture Minister Correa.
Around 4.5 million dollars are estimated for the expedition.
Between April and May, a robot should first recover objects outside the galleon to check “how they react” when they come out of the water.
After three centuries on the ocean floor, many objects have undergone "physical and chemical" changes and could potentially disintegrate during recovery, warned marine researcher Alexandra Chadid.
The exact location of the wreck is secret - this is intended to protect the archaeological find from treasure hunters.
vet/AFP