Treasure! The Spanish Galleon, San José, May Soon Be Raised

From the New York Post: "‘Holy Grail’ shipwreck worth $17B could be recovered soon — but it’s a ‘huge challenge’." The article explains:

    For the uninitiated, the San José galleon was the pride of Spain’s treasure fleet which was sunk off Baru Island, Cartagena in 1708 during the war of Spanish Succession, whereupon it lay undiscovered until 2015.

    It was notable for its record-breaking cache of emerald, gold and silver whose total value is estimated at a cool $17 billion.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ownership of the 131-foot vessel has been fiercely disputed with Spain, Colombia, Bolivian indigenous groups, and even the US laying claim to this holy grail of the high seas.

    Now, authorities claim that they’re setting politics aside and are planning to salvage the San José’s artifacts starting in April.

The hope isn't just to recover the treasure and other artifacts from the wreck, but to actually raise the ship itself so it can be displayed in a museum. Part of the challenge--and possibly the saving grace in keeping the ship intact enough to even considering raising it--is that sunk in approximately 2,000 feet of water. The plan is initially to use robots to retrieve artifacts and bring them to surface. After observing how those artifacts respond, then the decision can be made whether to go ahead and attempt to raise the wreck.