Bogota, Dec 15 (EFE).– The Colombian Culture Ministry officially refused to give U.S.-based treasure hunters Sea Search Armada access to the coordinates of the site where the wreck of the Spanish galleon San Jose was found on Nov. 27.

In a letter signed by Minister Mariana Garces and made public on Tuesday, Colombia ruled out the possibility suggested by SSA of receiving access to the wreck, the coordinates of which are being kept secret, to verify that it is not located at the site where the firm found a sunken vessel in 1982.

In her missive, Garces refers to the rulings of Colombian courts granting SSA the possibility of keeping 50 percent anything found at wreck sites that is not part of Colombia’s national patrimony and that is located at the 1982 site.

Last Friday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos also referred to the claims made by SSA and said that the radar anomaly near Cartagena that SSA claims is the possible site of the San Jose do not correspond with the wreck’s actual location.

The president at the time mentioned a ruling by the Colombian Supreme Court that states: “(SSA) will have the right to the assets that may be found at the designated coordinates” and not at the site where the wreck of the San Jose is located.

Given this situation, Garces in her Tuesday letter said that “there is no reason at all for SSA’s request to (learn the coordinates of) the site where the San Jose Galleon really is.”

However, she did issue an invitation to the U.S. firm to go to the coordinates of the 1982 wreck so that “with its own equipment and at its own cost” it could search for booty or other wreck debris at that site accompanied by Colombian authorities.

If any shipwreck is found at those coordinates, the Colombian government “will accord Sea Search Armada the conditions for its identification and possible salvage.”

On Nov. 27, a scientific team headed by the Colombian Anthropology and History Institute located the San Jose wreck site off the coast of Cartagena.

The Spanish galleon sank on June 8, 1708, while loaded with gold, silver and precious stones worth an estimated $17 billion in today’s money.

Since then, a diplomatic hullabaloo has arisen regarding the ownership of the wreck involving experts who say that bringing up the San Jose could damage the patrimony on board the galleon.

Spain is claiming ownership of the treasure ship as a military vessel and on Dec. 12 – after a meeting of the respective foreign ministers – Madrid admitted having “disagreements” with Colombia regarding its ownership but said that the two parties had agreed to seek joint ways to preserve and protect the wreck. EFE