shipwreck. Credit : Armada de la Republica de Colombia
As operations to recover the San Jose Galleon treasure are set to begin between April and May 2024, Colombia’s ministry of Culture has revealed plans for carrying out this delicate operation.
Located 600 meters (1,970 feet) underwater, the San Jose Galleon will be reached with a remotely controlled robot. The stakes are high, as the treasures in the shipwreck are valued at about $20 billion (78.9 trillion COP), not to mention their significant cultural and historical value.
Colombia’s scientific mission
To conduct the operation, the Colombian government will call on the Colombian Navy and its multipurpose hydrographic ship, the ARC-152 Caribe, which will serve as the headquarters of the scientific mission. From there, operation members will operate a submarine robot, the Lynx, designed by the Swedish underwater robotics company Saab Seaeye.
The robot is expected to retrieve the treasures contained within the San Jose Galleon. While the remains of the vessel’s treasures are yet to be discovered, archival records indicate its cargo includes 200 tons of gold, silver and precious stones, along with other valuable artifacts.
A logistical challenge
The operations to recover and explore the San Jose Galleon’s shipwreck are expected to take time. Indeed, recovering and exploring the San Jose Galleon shipwreck presents several logistical challenges. Besides the depth of its underwater location, the exploration process itself is highly delicate.
In fact, the galleon has been lying on the bed of the Caribbean Sea since 1708, after being sunk by the British navy during a naval battle off Cartagena. Experts are concerned that some of the treasures within the Galleon may break once they reach the surface due to the significant difference in underwater pressure.
In addition, given that the Lynx robot has a payload capacity of only 34 kilograms (75 pounds), the considerable weight of heavy metals the operators expect to recover poses an additional challenge to resurfacing.
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