Unesco plea over sunken galleon

The United Nations cultural agency has called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the 300-yearold wreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose, which is believed to contain a cargo worth billions of pounds.

A Unesco body protecting underwater cultural heritage sent a letter to Colombian culture minister Mariana Garces Cordoba expressing concern that recovering the treasure for sale rather than historical value “would cause irretrievable loss of significant heritage”. 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.

Colombia intends to recover the San Jose, ending a three-century saga since 1708, when the ship sank with 600 people aboard while trying to outrun a fleet of British warships.