David Sundman writes:

The Colombian government plans to salvage a famous shipwreck that is believed to contain gold, silver and emeralds worth billions of pounds.

The Spanish galleon San José sank, with the loss of nearly 600 lives, in 1708, off the coast of Cartagena in the north of Colombia as it tried to outrun British warships. On board were at least 11million gold coins and six years' accumulated jewels from the Spanish colonies.

President Santos said yesterday that his government had struck a deal with an unnamed private investor and would bring together a "dream team" of archaeologists and engineers from around the worldto recover the wreck and put it on display in Cartagena, which is now a tourist destination.

There are legal complications, however. A US salvage company, Sea Search Armada (SSA), claims it discovered the San José in the 1980s, when it shared the co-ordinates with the Colombiangovernment. A court ruling in 2007 awarded SSA half of any commercial treasure that may be recovered.

The Colombian government insists that its navy located the San José - viewed in the salvage world as the holy grail of shipwrecks - in a different location. The company and the government haveagreed to visit the site this month to ascertain whether SSA may have a case.

The precise location of the wreck remains a state secret. It has been surveyed by a naval submarine and identified by its solid bronze cannons engraved with images of dolphins. During a court casein the 1990s, SSA said that the treasure on the San José would be worth up to $17 billion.

To read the complete article, see:
Colombia to salvage $17bn treasure galleon SanJosé (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/colombia-to-salvage-17bn-treasure-galleon-san-jos-vxqnk6h7d?shareToken=e58adf26a5a0555e63b54132da26e27f)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
SAN JOSE GALLEON FOUND: THE HOLY GRAIL OF SHIPWRECKS (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n49a26.html)