Recovery of ‘incalculable’ treasure from submerged ship will begin in April – 02/23/2024 – Science

The Colombian government announced, this Friday (23), that in April the extraction of objects of “incalculable value” that are part of the treasure of the Spanish galleon San José, submerged three centuries ago in the Caribbean Sea, will begin.

Seven years after the historic discovery of the sunken ship off the coast of Cartagena, authorities will begin recovering the pieces from underwater, Culture Minister Juan David Correa told AFP.

The treasure, estimated to be worth billions of dollars, has been there since June 1708, when the sailing ship was ambushed and sunk by an English squadron.

Between April and May, an “exploitation of some materials that are superficially in the bed” of the galleon will be carried out to see how they react when removed from the water and prepare for the recovery of the rest of the assets, explained Correa.

The work will cost more than 4.5 million dollars (22.2 million reais) and will be carried out with a robot that descends to a depth of 600 meters, where the ship is located. Thus, “some things that are there are extracted without modifying or harming the nest egg”, such as ceramics, shells and pieces of wood, added the minister in an interview with AFP on board the ARC Caribe ship.

The experts will work from this huge Navy ship at a point in the sea that is still secret, so as not to alert treasure hunters and pirates to the location of the archaeological discovery, considered one of the greatest in Colombian history.

The San José sank in the waters close to this Caribbean tourist city and key point of trade between America and Spain during the era of colonization, after leaving Portobelo, Panama, full of vases, jewelry, precious stones, gold, silver and cannons.

Correa did not specify whether the most valuable metals in the treasury, which are of “incalculable value” and which “exceeds any monetary price”, will be extracted in the first phase.

“Most” of the submerged elements have undergone a “physical and chemical change”, so they will probably fall apart when they leave the water, explained Captain Alexandra Chadid, a Navy researcher.

New paradigm

Since it was located in 2015, the galleon has been the subject of disputes due to the high value of its cargo of hundreds of tons.

Spain claimed the shipment based on a UNESCO convention to which Colombia is not a party. Bolivian indigenous people from the Qhara Qhara people also stated that wealth was taken from their land.

The government of leftist Gustavo Petro, in power since 2022, seeks to remove the nest egg from the ocean with its own resources to contribute to science and culture, regardless of controversies related to the distribution of wealth.

The intention is “to stop considering that we are facing a treasure that we must fight for, as if we were in the colonial era of pirates who fought over these territories”, added Correa.

The Spanish ambassador in Bogotá, Joaquín de Arístegui stated that he has instructions to offer Colombia a “bilateral agreement” that would lead to a “new paradigm” between the two countries in favor of the “protection” of the galleon.

Bolivian indigenous representatives in Cartagena expressed their support for Petro’s project. Now they will propose the return of some pieces to their nation, “not only for the symbolic issue, but more for the spiritual issue”, indigenous leader Samuel Flores told AFP.

“We just want our ancestors to be at peace,” he said.

Litigation

Although it has not yet been defined, the Colombian government plans for the San José to be accessible to the public through a virtual exhibition with artificial intelligence and for the place where it sank to become a destination for scientific research.

“The world can learn a lot (…). The galleon is very interesting from the point of view of ideas, technology, naval processes, and from a human point of view, because it was inhabited by 600 men”, said the Portuguese archaeologist Filipe Castro, from the University of Coimbra.

The closest approximation of the galleon’s appearance was a series of videos officially revealed in mid-2022, filmed by a guided vehicle and high-tech recording equipment that allowed it to see in the darkness of the seabed.

The government’s announcement about the start of extraction coincides with a new controversy, a dispute between the Colombian State and the American company Sea Search Armada before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The company claims to have found the galleon before, therefore, it claims rights to 50% of the treasure, whose value is estimated at up to 20 billion dollars (98 billion reais), according to the complaint.

Paula Robledo, director of the Colombian State Legal Agency, called this claim “grotesque” and “frivolous”, and announced legal defense actions.