$20 billion treasure from the San José ship just salvaged by Colombia

Colombia has retrieved the first artifacts from the wreck of the San José, opening a legal dispute over ownership of treasure worth billions of dollars.

Deep in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia lies the wreck of the Spanish naval ship San José, which was attacked and sunk by a British warship in 1708. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

At the time of its sinking, the San José was armed with 62 guns and is believed to have been carrying a massive cargo of 200 tons of gold, silver and raw gemstones. Photo: Public Domain.

The treasure found in the San José wreck is estimated to be worth up to $20 billion in today’s dollars. That’s why many companies and treasure hunters are trying to locate the San José. Photo: Armada de Colombia.

In 2015, the Colombian Navy announced that it had found the wreck of the San José with the help of an autonomous submersible. Photo: ARC-DIMAR 2022/Vargas Ariza et al. Antiquity 2025.

Colombia recently announced that it had successfully recovered the first artifacts from the wreck of the San José shipwreck that sank in the Caribbean Sea more than 300 years ago. Photo: Colombian Presidency.

The first artifacts recovered by Colombia from the San José included gold and bronze coins, as well as a cannon. Photo: Colombian Presidency.

The Colombian government said the treasure find was part of a larger research project, hoping to provide clues about the economic, social and political situation in Europe in the early 18th century. Photo: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Colombian Ministry of Culture.

However, the San José is at the center of a legal dispute between the Colombian government and a US-based maritime salvage company called Sea Search-Armada (SSA). Photo: EPA.

While Colombia claims to have discovered the San José in 2015, Sea Search-Armada claims to have discovered the wreckage in 1982. Sea Search-Armada has filed a lawsuit at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, claiming it is entitled to an estimated $10 billion in treasure from the wreck. Photo: EPA.

Regarding the San José, the Spanish government claims that it still owns the ship because it was a Spanish naval ship when it sank. Photo: EPA.

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Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/kho-bau-20-ty-usd-tu-tau-san-jose-vua-duoc-colombia-truc-vot-post2149072380.html