‘Holy grail of shipwrecks’: recovery of 18th-century Spanish ship could begin in April

The San Jose, sunk in 1708, has been at the center of a dispute over who has rights to the wreck, including $17bn in booty

Since the Colombian navy discovered the final resting place of the Spanish galleon San Jose in 2015, its location has remained a state secret, the wreck - and its precious cargo - left deep under the waters of the Caribbean.

Efforts to conserve the ship and recover its precious cargo have been caught up in a complicated string of international legal disputes, with Colombia, Spain, Bolivian Indigenous groups and a US salvage company laying claim to the wreck, and the gold, silver and emeralds onboard thought to be worth as much as $17bn.