A wrecked Spanish galleon, estimated to be worth as much as $20bn (£16bn), will be brought to the surface as a matter of urgency, according to the Colombian government.

The 62-gun galleon San José, which lies off the Caribbean coast, was sunk by the British navy in 1708. The ship is thought to be laden with one of the most valuable hauls ever lost at sea, including 200 tonnes of silver, emeralds and gold coins.

The ship has been dubbed the ‘holy grail’ of shipwrecks due to the exceptional value of treasure aboard.

At the time it sank, it was believed to be carrying treasure accumulated over several years, including silver from Bolivia, emeralds from Colombia and 11 million gold coins.

In 1981 a US salvage consortium called Glocca Morra, claimed to have located San José . The consortium said that it would hand over the ship’s co-ordinates to the Colombian authorities, in exchange for half the treasure when it was eventually lifted from the deep.

However — unsurprisingly — there are now disputes about who should lay claim to the bounty. Some have argued that Glocca Morra did not locate the ship, and the Colombian government claims that it independently found the galleon with a team of divers in 2015, at a different location, which remains secret.

Juan Manuel Santos, who was Colombia’s president at the time, said the find “constitutes one of the greatest discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind.”

The salvage team argues that it did find the ship, and — in an arbitration case being heard in London — has claimed it is owed $10bn by Colombia.

Ownership is also disputed by Spain and Bolivia’s indigenous Qhara Qhara nation who say the Spanish forced their community’s people to mine the metals used in the treasure.

Images recovered in 2022 show a part of the bow covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull. As well as broken bottles, crockery and vases, the images show muddy cannons and an intact Chinese dinner service.

Speaking to Bloomberg last week, Colombia’s minister of culture, Juan David Correa, said he believes there is merit to the case, and that recovering the ship within the next two years is now a priority for President Petro, whose term ends in 2026. “The president has told us to pick up the pace,” Correa said.

The San José was part of a fleet sailing from Panama to Colombia when it was intercepted by a British squadron on 8 June 1708 off Cartagena, during the War of the Spanish Succession. The ship’s powder magazines exploded during the battle and the vessel swiftly sank. Out of all 600 crew on board, only 11 survived.

Main image: A video released in 2022 shows the wreck of the Spanish treasure galleon, San José. Image courtesy of Armada de la Republica de Colombia.

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