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It’s happening. 115,327 days after the San Jose Spanish galleon ship sunk off the coast of Colombia the wheels are in motion to raise the ship and recover the “most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity” according to former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
The saga of the San Jose dates back hundreds of years to June 8, 1708 when the Spanish Galleon sunk off the Colombian coast. According to history, the ship went down with an unimaginably valuable hall said to be the most valuable collection of lost treasure in history.
The ship is reported to be holding 11 million gold coins, 200 tons of silver and emeralds, 64 cannons, and an intact pottery set from China according to reconnaissance dives from the Colombian Navy back in 2022 and reported on by my colleague Douglas here at BroBible.
Back in November, the decision to raise the ship was made official. It’s a very contentious decision because with an estimated $17 billion in treasure there are a lot of parties who believe the treasure belongs to them. There were also 600 crew members who sank with the ship and lost their lives.
However, the Colombian government has decided to forge ahead with raising the ship and according to ABC News, a press release from the Colombian government, and officials in charge, the work to raise the ship and begin recovering the “most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity” will be as early as next month.
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San Jose Shipwreck With $17 Billion In Treasure To Be Raised In Colombia Beginning In April
This won’t be easy. Nobody assumed it would be. But the ship is 3,100 feet below the surface and while there isn’t a heavy current at the bottom of the sea the current flows strong between the surface and the San Jose shipwreck so bring the valuables up from the bottom to the surface safely presents unique challenges.
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discovered one of the ship’s cannons using a submersible back in 2015. The cannon was found at 2,000+ feet deep and it took three years for the team to get permission from the Colombian government to report on their finding. We first reported on the San Jose shipwreck finding here back in 2018.
According to ABC News, the disputed treasure has been claimed by “Colombia, Spain, Bolivian Indigenous groups and an American salvage company” who have all, at various times, attempted to claim ownership of the San Jose treasure. Alas, the Colombian government is forging ahead with raising the ship as soon as April.
The TODAY Show reported on it as well this week as the Colombian government has signaled that the wheels are in motion:
What happens next?
Sea Search Armada (SSA), an American company, first attempted to claim the San Jose treasure back in 1981! There was an ongoing dispute until Colombia was declared as the rightful owner in 2011 by a U.S. court. Others, as mentioned above, have attempted to claim the treasure but history’s funny… isn’t it?
A quick stroll through the magnificent historical museums in London reveal that it’s near impossible to recover artifacts from another country. I’m not saying this is Colombia’s approach, but if it is, once they are in possession of the $17 billion treasure then any parties seeking to claim ownership will face a herculean task trying to wrest it out of the Colombian government’s hands.
In a press release, the Colombian government announced they will be investing $1,073,646 (17,962 million pesos) in the recovery of the San Jose treasure. $1 million to earn $17 billion is a pretty, pretty good return on investment.