San José galleon
shipwreck cargo FOUND fame 4/5
Spanish galleon, capitana of the Tierra Firme fleet, sunk by the Royal Navy in 1708 off Cartagena with an immense cargo of New World gold, silver, and emeralds; located by a Colombian navy/REMUS AUV survey in 2015.
Resolved (2015-11-27): Located 27 November 2015 by the Colombian Navy with a WHOI REMUS 6000 AUV survey off the Colombian coast; announced 4-5 December 2015. Ownership remains disputed (Colombia / Spain / Sea Search Armada).
Scorecard
Exists
LIKELY
band 4/5 · raw +4.97
- +1.43 · On 27 November 2015 a Colombian Navy expedition using a WHOI REMUS 6000 AUV…
- +1.36 · Spanish colonial records show the San José was carrying registered crown and…
- +1.00 · class_prior
Findable now
PLAUSIBLY-FINDABLE
band 4/5 · raw +2.08
- +2.00 · location_term
- -0.45 · British accounts of Wager's Action record that the San José's powder magazine…
- +0.36 · Autonomous underwater vehicles proved capable of locating deep-ocean wreck…
Findable (frontier)
PLAUSIBLY-FINDABLE
band 4/5 · raw +2.08
- +2.00 · location_term
- -0.45 · British accounts of Wager's Action record that the San José's powder magazine…
- +0.36 · Autonomous underwater vehicles proved capable of locating deep-ocean wreck…
Location hypotheses
The interactive map (Leaflet + OpenStreetMap tiles) is the one part of this page that needs a network connection; the hypothesis list below is the offline-readable source of truth.
| Hypothesis | Coords | Radius | Prior | Posterior | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep water off Barú / Rosario Islands | 10.200, -75.750 | 25 km | 0.45 | — | Approximate public-domain area; the verified 2015 site's exact coordinates are a Colombian state secret. |
| Sea Search Armada 1982 claimed site | 10.160, -75.900 | 10 km | 0.30 | — | SSA's litigated coordinates; later Colombian statements say no wreck lies there. |
What would it take?
No emerging or speculative technique changes the picture yet — the frontier findability band (PLAUSIBLY-FINDABLE) equals the current band. A breakthrough here would need a genuinely new capability, not just a maturing one.
Evidence ledger (7 verified facts)
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The San José, capitana of the Tierra Firme fleet, exploded and sank during Wager's Action on 8 June 1708 off Barú near Cartagena; only a handful of the roughly 600 aboard survived.known by 1708-08-01 · diagnosticity high · confidence 0.98
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British accounts of Wager's Action record that the San José's powder magazine detonated and she went down fast in deep water rather than being captured — her cargo was never taken as prize.known by 1712-01-01 · diagnosticity medium · confidence 0.90↳ Carla Rahn Phillips, The Treasure of the San José (Johns Hopkins UP, 2007) academic↳ Royal Navy action reports of Commodore Charles Wager, 1708 primary
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Spanish colonial records show the San José was carrying registered crown and merchant treasure from the Portobelo fair — commonly estimated at 7-11 million pesos in gold, silver, and emeralds — when she sank.known by 1750-01-01 · diagnosticity high · confidence 0.85↳ Carla Rahn Phillips, The Treasure of the San José (Johns Hopkins UP, 2007) academic
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Sea Search Armada announced in 1982 that it had located a probable San José site off the Colombian coast; the claim triggered decades of litigation with Colombia, and no wreck was ever verified at the claimed coordinates.known by 1982-06-01 · diagnosticity low · confidence 0.85↳ Wikipedia: San José (galleon) journalistic
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Autonomous underwater vehicles proved capable of locating deep-ocean wreck fields when a REMUS 6000 found the Air France 447 debris field at about 3,900 m depth in 2011.known by 2011-05-01 · diagnosticity medium · confidence 0.95↳ Wikipedia: Air France Flight 447 journalistic
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Colombia's Law 1675 of 2013 created a legal framework for locating and recovering submerged cultural heritage, clearing the way for a state-led search for the San José.known by 2013-08-15 · diagnosticity medium · confidence 0.90↳ Wikipedia: San José (galleon) journalistic
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On 27 November 2015 a Colombian Navy expedition using a WHOI REMUS 6000 AUV located the San José at roughly 600 m depth; bronze cannons cast with dolphin engravings confirmed the wreck's identity.known by 2015-12-05 · diagnosticity high · confidence 0.95↳ Wikipedia: San José (galleon) journalistic
“identified by its unique bronze cannons engraved with dolphins”
Search history (negative evidence)
| Years | Technique | Coverage | Detection | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1983 | — | 30% | 40% | partial | Claimed sonar target never verified; Colombian courts and later surveys found no wreck at the claimed site. |
| 2015 | — | 60% | 80% | found | REMUS 6000 side-scan + camera survey located and photographed the wreck. |