Researchers have finally confirmed that a long-sunken hulk off the coast of Colombia is none other than the San José. The legendary Spanish galleon, which vanished beneath the waves of the Caribbean 300 years ago, has been dubbed the “world’s richest shipwreck.” Now the big question is, who does the treasure belong to?
The San José was first launched in 1698 and was the flagship of the Spanish treasure fleet. In 1708, it was carrying gold and jewels from Peru to Spain that would help fund the War of Spanish Succession. As the ship approached Cartagena, Colombia, British naval forces attacked. During the melee, the gunpowder stores on the San José ignited, sinking the ship. Nearly 600 crew members perished as the ship went down with its vast cargo of gold, silver, emeralds, pearls, and other treasures.
Gold “cobs” seen in ROV images from the wreck. Photo: ARC-DIMAR 2022/Vargas Ariza et al., 2025
For centuries, the wreck remained lost beneath the sea. Two groups claim they discovered the famous shipwreck. U.S. salvage company Glocca Morra (now Sea Search Armada) insists that it first found the location of the ship in 1981. Then, in 2015, the Colombian navy, working with marine archaeologists, located the actual remains of the galleon using underwater drones.
At a depth of around 600m, it is too deep for divers to access. This made it hard for researchers to confirm that it is definitely the San José. The Colombian navy has been using remotely operated vehicles to survey the wreck. The key to proving that it is the San José has been the gold coins scattered on the ocean floor.
Process of elimination
The lead author of a new study, Daniela Vargas Ariza, explained how these coins allow dating of the wreck and its demise through a process of elimination. These particular coins, known as “cobs,” show mint marks from Lima, dated 1707. They also have castles, lions, Jerusalem crosses, and other Spanish imperial symbols imprinted on them.
“The finding of cobs…points to a vessel navigating the Tierra Firme route in the early 18th century,” said the paper. “The San José galleon is the only ship that matches these characteristics.”
The markings on the ‘cobs’. Image: ARC-DIMAR 2022 / Vargas Ariza et al., 2025
This Holy Grail of shipwrecks is now at the center of a legal battle. Colombia claims it is the sole owner of the wreck under its national heritage laws. They argue that as the ship lies within its territorial waters, it belongs to them. But others want to stake their claim over the ship and its $16 billion of treasure.
Spain contends that the San José is a Spanish ship and so it is Spanish state property. Sea Search Armada says it was the first to identify the general location of the wreck in the 1980s and so should receive some of the compensation. Indigenous communities from countries like Peru and Bolivia are also asserting claims to the treasure since most of it was pillaged from them when they were under Spanish colonial rule.
After hearings in Colombia and the U.S., the decision about who owns the most valuable shipwreck in the world will lie with the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague.
