The galleon San José sank off Cartagena in 1708 with nearly 600 people, and Colombia, Spain, a US salvage company and a Bolivian people all claim its cargo

The galleon San José, built in 1698, carried gold, silver and gems from Spain's American colonies. On 8 June 1708 four Royal Navy warships attacked her off Cartagena. Her powder magazine exploded and she sank with nearly 600 people aboard. In 1981 a US company, Glocca Morra, said it had found the wreck, but it never raised anything. In 2015 Colombia announced it had found the wreck at a different site and declared it national cultural property. Sea Search Armada, Glocca Morra's successor, says the two sites are one debris field and claims half the cargo. It filed an investment arbitration against Colombia seeking US$10 billion. Colombia says the company never found the ship and that its coordinates were wrong. Spain says it never gave up sovereign ownership. The tribunal refused to let Spain take part while it decided jurisdiction. The Qhara Qhara people of Bolivia, whose ancestors mined the silver, also claim a share. In November 2025 Colombia raised a cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup from the wreck. Reports in June 2025 expected an award by the end of 2025. No award had been reported in sources found by October 2026^†. Status: arbitration pending at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.