Colombia placed a special designation around the “holy grail” of shipwrecks off the Caribbean coast Wednesday as the country explores the famed Spanish warship.
The San Jose, which is believed to be full of emerald, gold, and silver worth an eye-popping $17 billion, received a “protected archeological area” that would ensure its “long-term preservation,” according to reports.
Colombia’s culture ministry said it “guarantees the protection of heritage” and would allow for the “development of research, conservation and valuation activities,” the AFP reported.
“This is not a treasure, we do not treat it as such,” Culture Minister Juan David Correa reportedly said.
The 60-gun galleon sank in waters near Baru Island, Cartagena during the war of Spanish Succession in a battle with British warships and wasn’t discovered until 2015 by the Colombians.
The incredible find led to contention over who owns the doomed vessel with Colombia, Spain, Bolivia’s indigenous communities and a US-based company all making claims.
The US company, the Sea-Search-Armadahas, took the Colombian government to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in hopes of grabbing up about $10 billion of the estimated treasure, CNN reported.
The company claims it found the ship in the 1980s.
For now, researchers began an expedition that will photograph the ship with non-intrusive remote sensors, according to the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), CNN reported.
Once the results of that mission are revealed, it could lead to more expeditions that include recovering archaeological materials from the San Jose.
“This government is doing something that is unprecedented… exploring the sinking of the galleon as the possibility of understanding history and culture,” Correa said at a news conference.
The director of the ICANH, lhena Caicedo, previously told the Guardian there is hope to raise the wreck itself.
But Caicedo admitted it would be a “huge challenge” and a project that lacks many precedents.
