Underwater robot finds 300-yr-old ship with treasure worth $17bn

An underwater robot submarine has recently discovered a 310-year-old Spanish galleon ship at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, carrying a wealth of gold, silver and emeralds that could be worth USD 17 billion.

The underwater robot called the Remus 6000, which can dive nearly four miles, loaded with sensors and cameras located the bronze cannons of the ship 'San Jose', engraved with dolphins.

Jeff was alone in his bunk on the search vessel when he spotted the bronze cannons of San Jose, reported CBS news.

"I just sat there for about 10 minutes and smiled," said Jeff Kaeli, a research engineer with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

"I'm not a marine archaeologist, but...I know what a cannon looks like. So in that moment, I guess I was the only person in the world who knew we'd found the shipwreck," he added.

As per the report, the Remus 6000, operated by the WHOI, found the San Jose almost 2,000 feet below the surface. It scanned the seafloor by using long-range sonar and captured pictures of objects "that seemed out of the ordinary."

The shipwreck location is still a secret, although it is believed to be located off the coast of Cartagena in Colombia.

In November 2015, the 62-gun, three-masted Spanish galleon ship was found with the help of an autonomous vehicle operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). However, those who were involved in the discovery had recently allowed the researchers to publicly release the findings, according to the report.

The underwater robot has also been used in locating other wrecks, the most notable being the Air France Flight 447, which crashed off the coast of Brazil in 2009.

British warships led by English Commodore Sir Charles Wager sank the San Jose, belonging to the Spanish Navy after a long exchange of heavy firing in the late 16th century. The billions of treasure that was also present in the galleon ship still remain underwater.

The WHOI has worked closely with the Colombian government and has found various artefacts such as ceramic jugs and teacups.

The wreck of the San Jose has been engulfed in secrecy over the ownership of the late 16th-century ship.

While both Colombia and Spain claims that the ship belongs to them, WHOI researchers have clearly stated that they are merely explorers and not treasure hunters and have no say in ownership disputes.