The Holy Grail of Shipwrecks

In early 2018, WHOI obtained authorization to release new details about its role in the successful 2015 search for the three-century old Spanish galleon San José, which sank during the War of Spanish Succession with a cargo believed to be worth billions of dollars. The ship was found after an extensive survey of an area off Colombia’s Baru Peninsula carried out by WHOI’s state-of-the-art REMUS 6000 AUV  (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). The wreck was partially sediment-covered, but with camera images from lower altitude REMUS missions, the crew was able to see new details, including the Spanish pottery shown here. (© Colombian Ministry of Culture)