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Woods Hole Institute helps discover 'holy grail' of shipwrecks

It's being called the Holy Grail of shipwrecks.

Gold, silver, emeralds and a three-masted Spanish galleon ship called the San Jose: these incredible artifacts are sitting off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia and Woods Hole researchers were able to send their equipment to explore it.

The cargo on board the ship is believed to be worth billions of dollars; it sank during a battle with British Ships during the War of Spanish Succession in 1709.

Colombia officials found the shipwreck in 2015, which they suspected to be the San Jose. They then partnered with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, based in Falmouth, for its expertise in underwater exploration.

This week, WHOI released photos from its deep-sea dive, revealing some of the incredible treasures below.

“First off we're really not treasure hunters at WHOI, we're explorers, so for us, the experience and the whole story is the treasure,” Dr. Jeff Kaeli.

Kalei was part of the team that went on the expedition aboard the Colombian Navy Ship.

The ship sits at more than 1968 feet on the ocean floor, requiring WHIO's special underwater vehicle called REMUS 6000.

“The REMUS 6000 was the ideal tool for the job, since it’s capable of conducting long-duration missions over wide areas,” said WHOI engineer and expedition leader Mike Purcell.

The REMUS has quite the resume, playing an important role in finding the wreckage of the Air France 447 plane in 2011 and also mapping and photographic the Titanic in 2010.

REMUS helped confirm the shipwreck was indeed the infamous San Jose by capturing photos of its cannons, a distinct feature on the ship.

“I just sat there in my bunk and smiled, nothing else you can do realizing all this work for everyone it's a huge team effort,” said Kaeli.

The photos are just now being released because the discovery was tied up in litigation. In fact, the Colombian government won't reveal the exact location of the shipwreck because it is considered a state secret.

So far, none of the treasure has actually been recovered and it's unclear if Colombia will attempt to.

WHIO operates the REMUS 6000, which the Dalio Foundation owns.

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