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New image of one of the world ’s most valuable shipwrecks show its singular preservation on the seafloor off the coast of Colombia — while the search has revealed two more historic wreck in the same area .
The in style photograph and picture of the wreck of the San José treasure galleon were released by the Colombian navy on June 6 .
According to international law, the shipwreck and everything on it belong to Spain; but Colombia’s government has declared that it owns the wreck and its treasure, which is estimated to be worth $17 billion.
The ship was loaded with an estimated $ 17 billion worth ofgold , flatware and jewels when it sank in 1708 , and its shipwreck was only discovered in 2015 . The navy used a remotely go underwater vehicle ( ROV ) to prove the wreck ; its accurate location is being kept a closed book to dissuade treasure hunter .
The new images show that the wooden Kingston-upon Hull of the San José is covered in marine growth — sea species that colonise substrate and shipwreck — but is still unusually intact after more than 300 year beneath the wave .
A spokesperson for the Colombian navy enounce cannon , coins and amber bars can be see lying exposed on the seafloor , as well as a frail bent of porcelain tableware in perfect condition .
The latest photographs and video also show gold coins from the ship’s cargo of treasure, now lying on the seafloor.
Related : Colombia go to salve huge treasure from deep-set Spanish galleon
In many cases the preservation is so estimable that the searchers can take inscription on the objects . " With the inscription discovered , it was possible to determine the manufacturing sites of the ship ’s cannon : in Seville and Cádiz , in the year 1655 , " allege Adm. José Joaquín Amézquita , the Colombian navy ’s maritime conductor - general , suppose in a command . " You also can see the dissimilar objective of gold , include the ' macuquinas ' [ a type of coin ] and the appointment they were mint . "
expert guess that the wreck and its artifacts may be so well preserved because the San José sank to a considerable depth — around 2,000 foot ( 600 meters ) — far below the reach of the sunlight that sustains many marine organism .
The remotely-operated underwater vehicle (ROV) that explored the San Jose wreck discovered an intact porcelain tableware set in the remains of the hull.
Navy experts also detect two other crash on the seafloor nearby — one of a ship from the colonial period ( from the comer of the Spanish in about 1525 until the early 1800s ) and the other of a around 200 - year - old schooner . The origins of both ships are unknown .
Contested ownership
The San José wreck and its valuable table of contents are at the centre of attention of an international legal row . The Colombian authorities claims possession of the wreck and all the treasures it contain , and the Colombian navy is monitoring the site on the seafloor , which rest near the Barú peninsula , south of Cartagena .
However , the ship belong to the Spanish navy when it was sunk by British warships in 1708 , and under international law Spain still owns the San José and everything it contain .
In 2018 , the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) advised Colombia not to salvage the wreck , theAssociated Press reported .
But Colombia ’s government has declare that the wreck and all its treasure belong to them , and it has asked prospective salvagers to register their interest in recovering it .
Treasure ship
According to the Spanish naval chronicle websiteTodo a Babor(“All to Port " ) , the San José was a 62 - gun galleon of the Spanish naval forces . In 1708 , it lead a treasure fleet of three warships and 14 merchant vessels from Portobelo in Panama to Cartagena , a major port city on Colombia ’s Caribbean seashore , where the ships intended to shelter during the approachinghurricaneseason before baffle the Atlantic Ocean to Europe . historic records report that the San José galleon was oppressed with roughly 200 tons ( 180 metric tonnes ) of gold , silver grey and jewel .
But the convoy wasintercepted in former June that yearby British navy warship . During the ensuing battle , the San José exploded when its computer storage of gunpowder fire up . About 600 of the crew and passengers on plug-in the galleon were killed .
The whereabouts of the San José wreck remained unknown until the 1980s , when an American salvage company exact it had located the site and attempted to negotiate with the Colombian authorities for its recovery .
Colombia ’s administration turn down , however , and in 2015 it announced the San José wreck had been located severally by maritime archaeologists working with the Colombian navy .
The wreck site ’s considerable depth makes recuperation expensive and complex ; so far , no physical step have been taken to scavenge the ship or its gem .
Colombia ’s chairperson , Iván Duque , said that the monitoring of the wreck by the Colombian dark blue would guarantee its protection as a " earth heritage site . "
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But he also hinted at his government activity ’s assertion that Colombia have the San José shipwreck and everything onboard it , add together that artefact from the wreck would be exhibit in museums .
" The idea is to recover it and have sustainable financing mechanisms for next extractions , " Duque said . " In this way the treasure , the heritage of the San José galleon , is protected . "
Originally published on Live Science .
