San Jose shipwreck's sunken treasure will be raised from the deep using underwater robot after years-long tug of war over the trove of coins, gemstones and artifacts - as experts say secret Columbia mission could recover $20 BILLION of loot

The 'Holy Grail of shipwrecks,' housing up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds valued at $20 billion, is set to be retrieved from the deep sea with the aid of an underwater robot.  

The Spanish galleon San Jose sank off the Colombian port of Cartagena in 1708, as its powder magazines detonated during a skirmish with the British. Onboard were treasures worth billions of dollars, along with 600 sailors. 

Nearly a decade after the Colombian government disclosed the discovery of the legendary shipwreck, authorities announced on Friday that an expedition will embark on the recovery of these hidden treasures in April.  

Culture Minister Juan David Correa told AFP that an underwater robot, scheduled to operate between April and May, will extract items from the exterior of the galleon. 

The first step is to see 'how they materialize when they come out (of the water) and to understand what we can do' to continue the mission, Correa said. 

The 'Holy Grail of shipwrecks,' housing up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds valued at $20 billion, is set to be retrieved from the deep sea with the aid of an underwater robot 

The Spanish galleon San Jose sank off the Colombian port of Cartagena in 1708, as its powder magazines detonated during a skirmish with the British. Onboard were treasures worth billions of dollars, along with 600 sailors

Nearly a decade after the Colombian government disclosed the discovery, authorities announced on Friday that an expedition will embark on the recovery of these hidden treasures. Pictured: crews searching for the shipwreck

Authorities have kept secrecy about the mission's location, but the scientific ship in charge of exploring the treasure was seen anchored at the dock of the ACR Bolivar naval base in Cartagena, Colombia, on Friday. 

The operation is expected to cost more than $4.5million, but the value of items recovered from the shipwreck could be 'incalculable', according to Correa. 

In 2015, the Colombian government announced that a team of navy divers had discovered the legendary ship lying in nearly 3,100 feet of water. 

And in 2022, another team brought back jaw-dropping images of its perfectly preserved cargo.

But the discovery of the galleon has since sparked an almighty fight over who owns the wreck, with a US firm claiming it found the boat and demanding half the loot. Also laying claims, are the Spanish government and an indigenous group.

American research company, Glocca Morra, claims it found the San Jose in 1981 and turned the coordinates over to the Colombians on the condition it would receive half the fortune once the vessel was recovered.

But this was countered in 2015 by Colombia's then-President Juan Manuel Santos who said the Navy had found the boat at a different location on the seabed.

Glocca Morra, now called Sea Search Armada, is suing for half the treasure - around $10billion according to estimates - under the US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, according to Bloomberg.

Spain and Britain were fighting the War of the Spanish Succession at the time and the Royal Navy was approaching dominance on the high seas when it sent the San Jose to the bottom 

Authorities have kept secrecy about the mission's location, but the scientific ship in charge of exploring the treasure was seen anchored at the dock of the ACR Bolivar naval base in Cartagena, Colombia, on Friday

The discovery of the galleon has since sparked an almighty fight over who owns the wreck, with a US firm claiming it found the boat and demanding half the loot. Also laying claims, are the Spanish government and an indigenous group

But Correa said the government's team had visited the coordinates given by Sea Search Armada and found no trace of the San Jose.

Complicating matters further, there are competing claims from the Spanish - whose Navy the vessel belonged to - and Bolivia's indigenous Qhara Qhara nation which says its people were forced to mine the gold and jewels, so the treasures belong to them.

'Not only for the symbolic issue but more for the spiritual issue. We just want our ancestors to be at peace,' native leader Samuel Flores told AFP. 

Meanwhile, Colombia has hailed the find as a huge historic and cultural achievement.

Correa told Bloomberg last year: 'This is one of the priorities for the Petro administration. The president has told us to pick up the pace.'

The idea is 'to stop considering that we are dealing with a treasure that we have to fight for as if we were in colonial times, with the pirates who disputed these territories,' Correa, the culture minister, said.

The robot will work at a depth of 600 meters to remove items 'without modifying or damaging the wreck' 

The operation is expected to cost more than $4.5million, but the value of items recovered from the shipwreck could be 'incalculable', according to Correa 

The 62-gun galleon was sailing from Portobelo in Panama at the head of a treasure fleet of 14 merchant vessels and three Spanish warships when it encountered the British squadron near Barú.

Spain and Britain were fighting the War of the Spanish Succession at the time and the Royal Navy was approaching dominance on the high seas when it sent the San Jose to the bottom.

Images recovered in 2022 show a part of the bow clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.

The images offer the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose - including gold ingots and coins, muddy cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service.

Porcelain crockery, pottery and glass bottles can also be seen.