There are contenders for the billion-dollar treasures of the “holy grail of shipwrecks”

The Colombian government has announced that it will try to recover items from the 1708 wreck of the galleon San Jose, which is believed to have contained cargo worth billions of dollars.

The three-century-old ship, often called the “holy grail of shipwrecks,” is controversial because it is both an archaeological and economic treasure, The Guardian writes.

Colombian Culture Minister Juan David Correa said the first attempts to raise the sunken galleon would be made between April and May, depending on ocean conditions in the Caribbean. Correa promised that this would be a scientific expedition.

“This is an archaeological fragment, not a treasure,” said Minister Correa after a meeting with President Gustavo Petro. “This is an opportunity for us to become a country at the forefront of underwater archaeological research.”

But as the Associated Press notes, the ancient shipwreck is believed to contain 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other valuable cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies that could be worth billions of dollars if recovered.

Colombian Culture Minister Correa said material recovered from the wreck, likely using a robot or submersible, would be brought aboard the Navy ship for analysis. Based on the results, a retry can be scheduled.

The galleon San Jose sank in a battle with British ships more than 300 years ago. Its location was localized several years ago, but since then legal and diplomatic disputes have begun.

In 2018, the Colombian government abandoned plans to explore the wreck amid disputes with a private firm that claims some search rights based on a 1980s agreement with the Colombian government.

In 2018, the United Nations cultural agency called on Colombia not to use the wreck for commercial purposes.

UNESCO’s expert body on the protection of underwater cultural heritage has written to Colombia expressing concern that returning the treasure for sale rather than for its historical value “would lead to the irreversible loss of a significant heritage.”

“Allowing the commercial exploitation of Colombia’s cultural heritage is contrary to the best scientific standards and international ethical principles set out, in particular, in the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage,” the letter says.

Colombia has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would subject it to international standards and require it to inform Unesco of its plans for the wreck, The Guardian writes.

The wreck was discovered with the help of an international team of experts and autonomous underwater vehicles, and its exact location is a state secret. The ship sank somewhere in a wide area off Colombia’s Baru Peninsula, south of Cartagena, in the Caribbean Sea.

The ship has been the subject of litigation in the United States, Colombia and Spain over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.

The three-decker San Jose was reported to be 150 feet (45 meters) long, with a beam of 45 feet (14 meters) and armed with 64 guns.

Colombia said explorers found bronze cannons that were in good condition, as well as ceramic and porcelain vases and personal weapons. Researchers say the technical characteristics of the guns leave no doubt that this is the wreck of the San Jose.