Colombia will send deep-water expedition to explore 300-year-old shipwreck thought to hold treasure
CTV
Colombia’s government announced plans for a deep-water expedition to explore the mythical galleon San José, sunk in the 18th century in the country’s northern Caribbean and believed to contain cargo valued at billions of dollars.
Colombia’s government announced plans Friday for a deep-water expedition to explore the mythical galleon San José, sunk in the 18th century in the country’s northern Caribbean and believed to contain cargo valued at billions of dollars.
The first phase of the scientific research into the deep waters around the shipwreck will collect information to determine which pieces are suitable and possible to extract. The wreckage is 600 metres deep in the sea.
Colombia located the galleon in 2015 but it has since been mired in legal and diplomatic disputes, and its exact location is a state secret.
The government says it will invest around US$4.5 million this year in an archeological exploration of the 62-gun, three-masted galleon that sank in 1708 after being ambushed by an English squadron on its way to Cartagena.
For the first phase of the investigation, the Colombian government does not intend to partner with private companies, said Alhena Caicedo Fernández, general director of the Colombian Institute of Archeology and History (ICANH) during a symposium on the galleon held Friday in Cartagena.
The expedition would start in spring depending on weather conditions.
Oceanographer and navy Rear Adm. Hermann León Rincón told reporters the expedition involves submerging robotic equipment that is connected to a navy ship. From there, using cameras and keeping a detailed record of its movements, he said, the robot will be positioned in connection with a satellite that is in geostationary orbit.
