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    Treasure hunter takes aim at $3B sunken bounty

    PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A shipwreck hunter says he has found the wreck of a World War II merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Cape Cod with a load of platinum now valued at $3 billion — perhaps the richest hoard ever discovered at the bottom of the sea.

    Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research, in Gorham, Maine, said a wreck in 700 feet of water 50 miles offshore is that of the Port Nicholson, a British vessel sunk in 1942. He said he and his crew positively identified the hull number using an underwater camera.

    Salvage operations should begin this month or in early March aboard a 220-foot vessel called Sea Hunter with the assistance of a remotely operated underwater vessel, he said.

    "I'm going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water," Brooks said.

    Brooks said the Port Nicholson was going from Nova Scotia to New York and carrying 71 tons of platinum when it was torpedoed. The platinum was intended as payment from the Soviet Union to the United States, he said.

    A federal court judge has granted him the salvage rights, he said.

    Brooks has been in the shipwreck business for nearly 20 years, with his previous biggest find being from a pirate ship near Puerto Rico.

     
    • Billy  •  Anchorage, Alaska  •  3 mths ago
      Yeah, if it goes to the government I am fully convinced that the taxpayers will somehow notice great benefit to ourselves. If you really want to give the money to the taxpayers then you better by pass the Federal Government. He found it and the government was not even looking for it. It's his.
    • WAZZUP  •  Portland, Maine  •  3 mths ago
      Courts just ruled that Odyssee Marine LOSES THEIR CLAIM to more than $500,000,000 in silver and gold coin salvaged a couple of years ago...Treasure ruled to be returned to Spain `cause it was being transported back to Spain from the Americas...If they want to return it to anybody and be "fair" about it ...it should be given to the people who were used as slaves to mine it....not Spain.
      • Scott 3 mths ago
        Well WAZZUP.....if I had salvaged it I would gladly share it with those who mined it.......
      • WAZZUP 3 mths ago
        Potosi, Peru and its "mountain of silver"... Mexico, Central America, South America...Columbian emeralds, pearls....these peoples and nations of today should get what their ancesters were enslaved to mine....
      • Alan 3 mths ago
        Yeah unfortunate for Odysee. I think they have another ship that they want to salvage but they're going to wait for the court ruling before bringing it up. If they lose it stays on the bottom and they don't tell anyone where it is.
    • James  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      You could write a story about snowflakes and people woudl find a way to bring politics into it.
      • J 3 mths ago
        We won't have snowflakes if the GOP doesn't take Global Warming seriously!!! Obama 2012!!!
      • James 3 mths ago
        Unbelievable.
      • rascal 3 mths ago
        J missed the point.
    • John  •  Kissimmee, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      German subs were patrolling and attacking ships off the eastern coast of the US in the 1940s. Coastal cities had blackouts because subs could see the silhouettes of ships against the city lights. Numerous Navy patrol airfields were built to counter the threat and many of them became airports now in use regionally today. You can still see the abandoned landing strips as you fly overhead.
      • Genghis 3 mths ago
        Good response about Nazi U-Boats. I dont know why am I supprised when I see a response that has no idea of what happened in WWII. I should be used to the constant drivel about having no idea about the Korean war or Viet nam either. I guess if it is not on your tweet or Ipad you dont need to know about it.
      • Brian 3 mths ago
        Not all cities followed the blackout rules - I've read several books by U Boat commanders and especially in Florida they were shocked that they weren't complying - and as you say - silhouetted the ships. Good post.
    • Roger H  •  Fargo, North Dakota  •  3 mths ago
      And the IRS will want...demand a huge chunk under penalty of imprisonment. It used to be great to live free. I guess freely indentured is close enough.
      • david 3 mths ago
        There have always been taxes. In the 1950's, the top tax rate was 91%. Now it's 35%. But I guess you don't think you should pay even THAT much.
      • Just saying 3 mths ago
        91% is hard to believe in ant situation.
      • Just saying 3 mths ago
        any*
    • LooneyTunes  •  Spokane, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      Hopefully the US Government won't confiscate it like they did those rare gold coins and the Bluefin Tuna caught a few months ago.
      • Z 3 mths ago
        Well, according to the article "A federal judge granted him salvage rights.."
      • Joseph Robson 3 mths ago
        The #$%$ Tuna Story makes Me Cringe. A Fisherman and Crew, Bustin' Their #$%$ and the Goverment takes it away ? #$%$ ? make Them Go out there and work for their food in the ocean. Better yet, In the Hot #$%$ Field's, That'll Change Their Tune !! White Goverment, Upper Cl#$%$ Society Would say "WTH" !! It is okay, they are "ALL" Gonna Bust the gates of Hell Wide Open !!!
    • O.L. Johnson  •  3 mths ago
      I hope they make a National Geographic special.
    • Fartzeria  •  3 mths ago
      greedy bureaucrats cant wait to get their hands on this mans project
    • FORWARD  •  3 mths ago
      You cannot even take a lobster out of the ocean without being charged a fee much less $3B.
    • goofy  •  Carrollton, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      good luck , the government / irs will swoop in - he won't see a dime of this bounty in his lifetime.
    • WILLIAM M  •  Cranbury, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      And when he brings it ashore the irs will be waiting with open arms
    • 999999  •  3 mths ago
      That represents nearly 30% of the annual mine output. This might be a good time to exit the platinum trade.
    • the due  •  Trenton, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      read up on sunken ship laws
    • Mike C  •  3 mths ago
      Does he need any help? I'll do it for a tiny fraction of the total. I'll settle for $2-3 million.
    • MONTY  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      The question is did Russia make up that payment that we did not receive or does Russia still owe us?
    • green apple splatters  •  3 mths ago
      bet govt takes it all away. maritime salvage law be dammed!!!
    • Death from above  •  3 mths ago
      The USA can use the tax money that comes from this, but seeing it came from the War efforts of WW2 as payment I don't know if I'm confortable with a Judge just giving it away.
    • What the  •  3 mths ago
      And of the $3 billions dollars, they will be lucky if they keep $30,000 of it. After every lawyer who thinks there is a quick buck to be had has filed a suit, there will not be much left.
    • Leaperman  •  3 mths ago
      A federal court judge has granted him the salvage rights, he said.

      and as soon as the treasure is up..the state will step in and take it anyway..they always do.
    • Star  •  Mechanic Falls, Maine  •  3 mths ago
      I wouldn't be surprised if the US didn't try to take it whe it's brought up!
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