The fierce battle over the 'Holy Grail' of shipwrecks

It has been hailed arsenic the astir invaluable shipwreck successful the world.

A Spanish galleon, the San José, was sunk by the British disconnected the seashore of Colombia much than 300 years ago. It had a cargo of gold, metallic and emeralds worthy billions of dollars.

But years aft it was discovered, a statement inactive rages implicit who owns that treasure and what should beryllium done with the wreck.

The Colombian and Spanish states person staked a assertion to it, arsenic person a US salvage institution and indigenous groups successful South America. There person been tribunal battles successful Colombia and the US, and the lawsuit is present earlier the Permanent Court of Arbitration astatine the Hague.

The Colombian authorities says it wants to rise the remains of the vas and enactment it successful a museum. Treasure hunters constituent to the commercialized worth of the cargo, which could beryllium arsenic overmuch arsenic $18bn (£13.bn).

But archaeologists accidental the wreck – and thousands similar it scattered crossed the satellite – should beryllium near wherever it is. Maritime historians punctual america that the San José is simply a graveyard and should beryllium respected arsenic such: astir 600 radical drowned erstwhile the vessel went down.

“It’s a large messiness and I spot nary casual mode retired of this,” says Carla Rahn Phillips, a historiographer who has written a publication astir the San José. “The Spanish state, the Colombian government, the assorted indigenous groups, the treasure hunters. I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate mode that everyone tin beryllium satisfied.”

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The San José sank successful 1708 arsenic it sailed from what is present Panama towards the larboard metropolis of Cartagena successful Colombia. From determination it was owed to transverse the Atlantic to Spain, but the Spanish were astatine warfare with the British astatine the time, and a British warship intercepted it.

The British wanted to prehend the vessel and its treasure, but fired a cannonball into the San José’s pulverization magazines by mistake. The vessel blew up and sank wrong minutes.

The wreck laic connected the seabed until the 1980s, erstwhile a US salvage company, Glocca Mora, said it had recovered it. It tried to transportation the Colombians to spell into concern to rise the treasure and divided the proceeds, but the 2 sides could not hold connected who should get what share, and plunged into a ineligible battle.

In 2015, the Colombians said they had recovered the ship, independently of the accusation provided by the Americans, connected a antithetic portion of the oversea bed. Since past they person argued that Glocca Mora, present known arsenic Sea Search Armada, has nary close to the vessel oregon its treasure.

The Spanish authorities has staked its claim, arguing that the San José and its cargo remains authorities property, and indigenous groups from Bolivia and Peru accidental they are entitled to astatine slightest a portion of the booty.

They reason that it is not Spanish treasure due to the fact that it was plundered by the Spanish from mines successful the Andes during the assemblage period.

“That wealthiness came from the mines of Potosí successful the Bolivian highlands,” says Samuel Flores, a typical of the Qhara Qhara people, 1 of the indigenous groups.

“This cargo belongs to our radical – the silver, the golden – and we deliberation it should beryllium raised from the oversea furniture to halt treasure hunters looting it. How galore years person gone by? Three 100 years? They beryllium america that debt.”

The Colombians person released tantalising videos of the San José, taken with submersible cameras. They amusement the prow of a woody ship, encrusted with marine life, a fewer bronze cannons scattered crossed the sand, and blue-and-white porcelain and golden coins shining connected the water floor.

As portion of its tribunal lawsuit astatine the Hague, Sea Search Armada commissioned a survey of the cargo. It estimates its worth astatine $7-18bn.

“This treasure that sank with the vessel included 7 cardinal pesos, 116 alloy chests afloat of emeralds, 30 cardinal golden coins,” says Rahim Moloo, the lawyer representing Sea Search Armada. He described it arsenic “the biggest treasure successful the past of humanity”.

Others are little convinced.

“I effort to defy giving present-day estimates of anything,” says Ms Rahn Phillips.

"If you’re talking astir golden and metallic coins, bash we marque an estimation based connected the value of the golden now? Or bash we look astatine what collectors mightiness wage of these golden coins?

"To maine it’s astir meaningless to effort to travel up with a fig now. The estimates of the treasure hunters, to me, they’re laughable.”

While the San José is often described arsenic the beatified grail of shipwrecks, it is – according to the United Nations - conscionable 1 of astir 3 cardinal sunken vessels connected our water floors. There is often precise small clarity implicit who owns them, who has the close to research them, and – if determination is treasure connected committee – who has the close to support it.

In 1982, the United Nations adopted the Convention connected the Law of the Sea – often described arsenic “the constitution of the oceans”, but it says precise small astir shipwrecks. Because of that, the UN adopted a 2nd acceptable of rules successful 2001 – the Unesco Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 Convention.

That says acold much astir wrecks, but galore countries person refused to ratify it, fearing it volition weaken their assertion to riches successful their waters. Colombia and the US, for example, person not signed it.

“The ineligible model close present is neither wide nor comprehensive,” says Michail Risvas, a lawyer astatine Southampton University successful the UK. A specializer successful planetary arbitration and maritime disputes, helium adds: “I’m acrophobic planetary instrumentality does not person clear-cut answers.”

For galore archaeologists, wrecks similar the San José should beryllium near successful bid and explored “in situ” – connected the water floor.

“If you conscionable spell down and instrumentality tons of artefacts and bring them to the surface, you conscionable person a heap of stuff. There’s nary communicative to tell,” says Rodrigo Pacheco Ruiz, a Mexican deep-sea diver who has explored dozens of wrecks astir the world.

“You tin conscionable number coins, you tin number porcelain, but determination is nary ‘why was this connected board? Who was the owner? Where was it going?’ – the quality communicative down it.”

Juan Guillermo Martín, a Colombian maritime archaeologist who has followed the lawsuit of the San José closely, agrees.

“The treasure of the San José should stay astatine the bottommost of the sea, on with the quality remains of the 600 unit members who died there,” helium says. “The treasure is portion of the archaeological context, and arsenic specified has nary commercialized value. Its worth is strictly scientific.”