The Colombian government of Gustavo Petro has announced that "at the beginning of the second half of this year" it will begin the exploration of the
Spanish galleon San José
, sunk by English pirates in June 1708 off the coast of
Cartagena de Indias
, charged - according to chronicles of the time - of emeralds and gold coins.
One of the richest vessels ever lost in the Western Hemisphere.
According to an official press release, the scientific investigation, which will be conducted with
a remotely controlled robot at a depth of over 600 meters
, will cost almost 18 billion Colombian pesos (around 4.5 million dollars) and was presented as part of the symposium "Challenges and prospects in the investigation of the San José galleon" at the Caribbean Naval Museum in Cartagena, where issues related to the management of archaeological contexts in deep waters and the conservation of submerged cultural heritage were addressed.
Following the announcement of the discovery of the wreck in December 2015, disputes arose between Colombia and Spain as Madrid argued that, as it was a ship flying its flag, it was protected by international ownership rules.
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