Colombia to Retrieve Objects from Billion-Dollar 'Holy Grail' Shipwreck

The San Jose galleon, sunk in 1708, is at the center of legal and diplomatic disputes over the rights to its sunken treasure.

The Colombian government has announced plans to retrieve objects from the 1708 shipwreck of the galleon San Jose, often referred to as the 'holy grail of shipwrecks', which is believed to contain a cargo worth billions of dollars.
The first attempts to raise objects from the shipwreck will be made between April and May, depending on ocean conditions in the Caribbean.
The ship is believed to hold 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, which could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.
The San Jose galleon sank in battle with British ships more than 300 years ago and has been mired in legal and diplomatic disputes over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.
The United Nations cultural agency has previously called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the wreck, expressing concern that recovering the treasure for sale rather than for its historical value would cause the irretrievable loss of significant heritage.