Recovery of ‘holy grail' shipwreck with up to $20 billion of sunken treasure to begin amid ownership battle

Colombia is hoping to begin the process of recovering the 'holy grail of shipwrecks' with up to $20 billion of sunken treasure onboard.

However, the ownership of the treasured goods remains in legal limbo amid an ongoing court battle as to who the fortune lies with.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered his administration to exhume the 'holy grail of shipwrecks', which is known as the Spanish galleon San José.

Currently, the shipwreck sits at the floor of the Caribbean Sea, with Colombia's minister of culture telling Bloomberg last week they hope to begin the mission as soon as possible.

President Petro has apparently told officials to set up a public-private partnership, or do a deal with a private firm, to get the shipwreck moving.

Presidencia de la República – Colombia

"This is one of the priorities for the Petro administration,” Minister of Culture Juan David Correa told Bloomberg.

"The president has told us to pick up the pace."

Correa went on to tell the outlet that Columbia wants to recover the wreck before Petro's term ends in 2026, though it remains unclear if that is possible at this stage.

While that is all well and good, mystery remains around who actually has ownership of the prized goods.

The massive trove of gold, silver and emeralds is estimated to be worth anywhere between $4 billion and $20 billion, according to a lawsuit.

The issues stem from who is believed to have found the goods after the San José galleon sunk some 2,000 feet on 8 June, 1708.

With 600 crew members onboard, the ship sank after a hard-fought battle against the British in the War of the Spanish Succession.

For many years after, the whereabouts of the San José galleon remained a mystery, until 1981.

Presidencia de la República – Colombia

That is when the US company Glocca Morra claimed it discovered the wreckage and the many billions onboard, subsequently giving its coordinates to Colombia with the promise it would receive half the fortune when recovered.

Then in 2015, Colombia’s then-President Juan Manuel Santos said the country's navy found the ship at a different location on the sea floor.

Colombia has never released the coordinates of the wreck, though Glocca Morra believes it found the same debris that they had discovered 34 years prior.

Subsequently, the company now known as Sea Search Armada is suing the Colombian government for half the treasure or $10 billion, under the US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, as per Bloomberg.