Off the coast of Colombia, authorities have begun exploring the Spanish galleon “San José” that was sunk in 1708.
The wreckage is said to contain one of the most valuable cargoes ever sunk – estimated to be worth around $20 billion.
Who actually owns the cargo is unclear and several claim it.
Colombia on Wednesday declared a “protected archaeological area” around the site just off the country’s Caribbean coast where the Gallon San Jose sank more than three centuries ago, writes CBS News.
The country’s Ministry of Culture believes that the announcement ensures that the heritage is protected through the ship’s “long-term preservation and development of research, conservation and evaluation activities”.
Culture Minister Juan David Correa announced the area’s new designation at an event on Wednesday that also featured the first phase of scientific research of the wreck. He also said that: “This is not a tax, we do not treat it as such.”
In February, the culture minister told the AFP news agency that an underwater robot would be sent to the wreck to retrieve some of its cargo.
The Holy Grail
Dubbed the “Holy Grail” of shipwrecks, the San Jose was owned by the Spanish crown but was sunk in 1708 by the British fleet near Cartagena. Only a few of the crew, estimated at around 600 people, survived, writes CBS.
The ship was loaded with silver, chests full of emeralds and about 200 tons of gold coins believed to be worth several billion dollars and still resting on the bottom of the ocean.
The exact location of the shipwreck is still being kept secret to protect what is considered one of the greatest archaeological finds in history from treasure hunters.
Several claim the wreck
Spain has claimed the ship and the treasure while the Qhara Qhara indigenous people of Bolivia claim the treasure was stolen from them.
The US salvage company Sea Search Armada believes it first found the ship more than 40 years ago and has taken Colombia to the United Nations (UN) Permanent Court of Arbitration where it has requested $10 billion.