There's a fortune off the coasts of Indonesia. It's just been lost somewhere beneath the waves. Indonesia was a vital stop on the old trade routes between China and the West. Millions of trade ships traversed these waters, and as many as 20,000 of them never made it past the Strait of Malacca, according to one UNESCO survey.More than 400 of these merchant ships are still lost somewhere in Indonesia's territorial waters—each one a deep-water fortune, as long as you know where to look. One estimate placed the total value of Indonesia's still-undiscovered sunken treasure at $12.7 billion USD.
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Gogo Kamargo has made a career out of searching for sunken treasure. He's an Indonesian Indiana Jones in a scuba mask. Gogo has done hundreds of dives for Cosmix Asia, one of the country's last-surviving deep sea treasure recovery companies.It's a difficult profession. Not only does Gogo have to brave strong undersea currents, dangerously turbulent seas, and unscrupulous scavengers, he also needs to deal with grinding government bureaucracy and claims that Gogo and his co-workers are nothing but thieves.The central government issued a moratorium on new deep-sea recovery permits in 2011. Since then, the country has lost countless sunken artifacts to looters who don't care about permits or government moratoriums. Meanwhile, legal treasure hunters like Gogo are stuck waiting on permits stuck in bureaucratic limbo. No one ever said the life of a treasure hunter was easy, but who knew it involved so much paperwork?We got ahold of Gogo to learn about what it's like to spend your career as diving for sunken treasure.VICE: How do you know where to look for sunken treasure?
Gogo Kamargo: First of all, you need to know history, about the maritime trade routes in Indonesia. For example the maritime routes from China to [the old kingdoms of] Sriwijaya or to Majapahit. After we try to figure out their routes, we search the areas that are prone to shipwrecks. And then we request a permit to survey the area. All these procedures take two years at the earliest, including the surveying and the lifting of the shipwrecked treasure.
Gogo Kamargo: First of all, you need to know history, about the maritime trade routes in Indonesia. For example the maritime routes from China to [the old kingdoms of] Sriwijaya or to Majapahit. After we try to figure out their routes, we search the areas that are prone to shipwrecks. And then we request a permit to survey the area. All these procedures take two years at the earliest, including the surveying and the lifting of the shipwrecked treasure.
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How much sunken treasure is out there in Indonesian waters?
So much. Each location is worth about Rp 1 trillion [$75 million USD]—if it's not already looted. I estimate that there are about 360 such locations throughout Indonesia. So that makes about Rp 360 trillion [$270 billion USD] in total.What's the most-valuable treasure you ever found?
I've only been to Lingga and Bintan. In total, I've searched about 100 locations. The most-valuable finds could be worth billions of rupiah [between $70,000 and $150,000 USD]. But thanks to the moratorium we face some problems. We requested a permit to lift it in 2012, but the government only granted us permission in 2014. Between 2012 and 2014 some of the treasure was looted.But yeah, so far the most-valuable stuff was found in the waters off Cirebon. In general, I could've lifted so much valuable treasure. But it's always looted first, so we never get the full haul. We've asked some people to look after our discoveries, but it turned out that they just looted it themselves.So there is a lot of competition between legal treasure hunters like yourself and these illegal looters?
We've lost about Rp 50 billion [$3.7 million] in assets to date. It's a shame too because the government could've secured the assets. According to the regulations, the government and a private company share the finds 50:50. But the government just ignores the treasure. They just look the other way when people loot the shipwrecks. They even told me they pitied these looters because they were just simple fishermen. So it's hard for me not to assume the worst when dealing with the government.
So much. Each location is worth about Rp 1 trillion [$75 million USD]—if it's not already looted. I estimate that there are about 360 such locations throughout Indonesia. So that makes about Rp 360 trillion [$270 billion USD] in total.What's the most-valuable treasure you ever found?
I've only been to Lingga and Bintan. In total, I've searched about 100 locations. The most-valuable finds could be worth billions of rupiah [between $70,000 and $150,000 USD]. But thanks to the moratorium we face some problems. We requested a permit to lift it in 2012, but the government only granted us permission in 2014. Between 2012 and 2014 some of the treasure was looted.But yeah, so far the most-valuable stuff was found in the waters off Cirebon. In general, I could've lifted so much valuable treasure. But it's always looted first, so we never get the full haul. We've asked some people to look after our discoveries, but it turned out that they just looted it themselves.So there is a lot of competition between legal treasure hunters like yourself and these illegal looters?
We've lost about Rp 50 billion [$3.7 million] in assets to date. It's a shame too because the government could've secured the assets. According to the regulations, the government and a private company share the finds 50:50. But the government just ignores the treasure. They just look the other way when people loot the shipwrecks. They even told me they pitied these looters because they were just simple fishermen. So it's hard for me not to assume the worst when dealing with the government.
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Were you ever tempted to just keep the treasure for yourself?
Of course. When this is your line of work, there is eventually something you want to keep for your own personal collection. We find a lot of stuff. But we always ask for permission if we want to keep something as a souvenir. If we were to sell them, they wouldn't be valuable, because not everything you find down there is a valuable historical object. There's mundane objects too.And then there is merchandise, like the stuff from China to Majapahit or Sriwijaya. That's valuable because of the historical aspect. It's something money can't buy.Where do you get your tips on sunken treasure?
Various sources. We get tips from fishermen, from government staffers. The fishermen sometimes find something in their nets or wrapped-up in their lines. There are things that can get stuck somewhere. If they report it, they only get a certificate of appreciation. It's just an acknowledgement that they found hidden treasure. That's all the government can do. But the fishermen don't need stuff like that. They want more, bigger rewards. So they turn to companies like ours who can request a survey permit and prove there is hidden treasure deep down there.Has anyone ever approached you to do a job that would be illegal?
Yeah, a lot. Usually from some rich person from Indonesia. They don't want to do it legally because of all the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy won't make it easy for you. But the government is then pissed off if they find a historical object at Christies, London. It will just be auctioned off and the government will point its finger at us and call us thieves. I just don't get it. If we do it by the book, we have to use our own money. They don't have to lift a finger, and they still get 50 percent of whatever we find. It's ridiculous.Is this dangerous work? You're out at sea, it can't always be safe.
When you're in the middle of the sea, it can always get dangerous. I've been caught in currents when I was in Lingga and Bintan. We always prioritize our safety, hence the ship and the speedboat. We are trained on how to look for missing divers. When I got carried away, the crew looked for me and tried to track where the current was going. It was in 2012 and I was doing a survey. When I wasn't diving, I also had to deal with typhoons.What's the most annoying thing about spending so much time on the sea?
Sometimes I miss foods like pangsit and tempe. Every day out in the sea we eat fish. On land, we can go to places, see people. On the sea all we can do is count the nuts and bolts on the ship. We can use the satellite phone, but not always. Now on the land we have wifi, we can use WhatsApp or stream films But working on the sea we simply lose touch with the outside world. It's especially hard if you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. I used to wonder what my girl was doing back on land. I missed her a lot. Now I'm married.What's the biggest danger? There aren't any pirates or anything?
We just have to coordinate with the Navy first. We tell them where we drop anchor, but sometimes they don't have enough men to stay on guard. And the looters are reckless, especially when the location is only 100 meters down. It's hard to look after it. But my last location was almost 8 miles from the coastline.
Of course. When this is your line of work, there is eventually something you want to keep for your own personal collection. We find a lot of stuff. But we always ask for permission if we want to keep something as a souvenir. If we were to sell them, they wouldn't be valuable, because not everything you find down there is a valuable historical object. There's mundane objects too.And then there is merchandise, like the stuff from China to Majapahit or Sriwijaya. That's valuable because of the historical aspect. It's something money can't buy.Where do you get your tips on sunken treasure?
Various sources. We get tips from fishermen, from government staffers. The fishermen sometimes find something in their nets or wrapped-up in their lines. There are things that can get stuck somewhere. If they report it, they only get a certificate of appreciation. It's just an acknowledgement that they found hidden treasure. That's all the government can do. But the fishermen don't need stuff like that. They want more, bigger rewards. So they turn to companies like ours who can request a survey permit and prove there is hidden treasure deep down there.Has anyone ever approached you to do a job that would be illegal?
Yeah, a lot. Usually from some rich person from Indonesia. They don't want to do it legally because of all the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy won't make it easy for you. But the government is then pissed off if they find a historical object at Christies, London. It will just be auctioned off and the government will point its finger at us and call us thieves. I just don't get it. If we do it by the book, we have to use our own money. They don't have to lift a finger, and they still get 50 percent of whatever we find. It's ridiculous.Is this dangerous work? You're out at sea, it can't always be safe.
When you're in the middle of the sea, it can always get dangerous. I've been caught in currents when I was in Lingga and Bintan. We always prioritize our safety, hence the ship and the speedboat. We are trained on how to look for missing divers. When I got carried away, the crew looked for me and tried to track where the current was going. It was in 2012 and I was doing a survey. When I wasn't diving, I also had to deal with typhoons.What's the most annoying thing about spending so much time on the sea?
Sometimes I miss foods like pangsit and tempe. Every day out in the sea we eat fish. On land, we can go to places, see people. On the sea all we can do is count the nuts and bolts on the ship. We can use the satellite phone, but not always. Now on the land we have wifi, we can use WhatsApp or stream films But working on the sea we simply lose touch with the outside world. It's especially hard if you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. I used to wonder what my girl was doing back on land. I missed her a lot. Now I'm married.What's the biggest danger? There aren't any pirates or anything?
We just have to coordinate with the Navy first. We tell them where we drop anchor, but sometimes they don't have enough men to stay on guard. And the looters are reckless, especially when the location is only 100 meters down. It's hard to look after it. But my last location was almost 8 miles from the coastline.