S.S. Port Nicholson, sunk by U-boat in 1942, found w/ $3 billion in platinum

[Story]

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A treasure hunter said Wednesday he has located the wreck of a British merchant ship that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Cape Cod during World War II while carrying what he claims was a load of platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion.

If the claim proves true, it could be one of the richest sunken treasures ever discovered.

But an attorney for the British government expressed doubt the vessel was carrying platinum. And if it was, in fact, laden with precious metals, who owns the hoard could become a matter of international dispute.

Treasure hunter Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine, announced that a wreck found sitting in 700 feet of water 50 miles offshore is that of the S.S. Port Nicholson, sunk in 1942.

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stori...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-01-16-23-16

Animated account of the sinking
http://subsearesearch.com/video/pnsink.html

Last WWII treasure ship discovered
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...ound-in-British-Shipwreck&highlight=shipwreck

 

[B-24J]

I knew that the U.S. did very well during The Great War in regards to payments in gold for war goods, but I wonder just how well the U.S. did financially during the second war?

I never really thought about the Soviet Union making bullion payments like the S.S. Port Nicholson was apparently carrying.

Peter Laidler in his book, "The Sten Machine Carbine", notes that Britain in 1940 had to pay for Thompson submachine guns and Hudson anti-submarine planes with gold.

People always talk about how mobilizing for war helped the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Selling war goods around the world must have been a large part of what paid for that mobilization.

John

 

[botty]

I believe that the USA was the only combatant country in WW2 to be richer after the was than before.

 

[Story]

PORTLAND, Maine — More than a year after Portland-based treasure hunter Greg Brooks announced he was on the verge of salvaging $3 billion in precious metals from the shipwreck of the World War II-era British freighter Port Nicholson, his team remains a frustrating distance from holding that bounty.

“We know that this stuff is on board and it’s frustrating not to be able to go down and just grab it,” Brooks told the Bangor Daily News Wednesday. “It’s right there. It’s 650 feet to 700 feet under us.”

Over the past 14 months, Brooks and his Sub Sea Research LLC have seen at least two proposed partnerships fizzle with underwater robotics makers — whose equipment is necessary to break into the sunken ship’s steel hull and, if there is platinum and gold inside, bring the heavy weight to the surface.

Additionally, Brooks said, he’s facing renewed enthusiasm for claiming ownership by the British government, which he believes aims to strip him of his rights to what would be a record shipwreck treasure.

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/04/...to-salvage-record-3-billion-shipwreck-bounty/

Also, the PRWeb overview -

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9138097.htm

 

[Otter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Edinburgh_(16)

There is precedent for the UK government to claim the cargo, check the link and scroll to the bottom for the recovery. There is also a very interesting book on the recovery effort. HMS Edinburgh was carying gold from Russia to pay the UK for weapons being shipped to help them. The UK came out of WWII basicaly bankrupt.

 

[Story]

The Edinborough case and others are addressed in the Bangor Daily News article, along with "None of those past cases are exactly analogous to the case of the Port Nicholson."

 

[Otter]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...e-up-148m-in-lost-silver-bullion-2360915.html

If I may refer m'learned friend to the above. Or they might just do what the Spannish Government did to Odyssey Marine, let them complete the salvage then slap them with a huge court case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_Project

 

[Story]

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a case involving Gorham treasure hunter Greg Brooks and his attempt to salvage the S.S. Port Nicholson, a World War II-era shipwreck off Cape Cod.

The action ends Brooks’ nearly seven-year odyssey, which burned through millions of dollars in investors’ money and triggered a fraud investigation that is still ongoing.
http://www.pressherald.com/2015/04/01/gorham-treasure-hunter-officially-loses-salvage-rights/

 

[Story]

British treasure hunters are seeking permission to recover a mysterious chest from a German ship's watery grave amid claims that it could contain £100m worth of Nazi gold.

The box was found by UK-based Advanced Marine Services inside the post room of the SS Minden at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Iceland.

There have been claims that the cargo ship was transporting gold from South American banks to Nazi Germany when it sank in September 1939.

The ship was intercepted by the Royal Navy's HMS Calypso and scuttled by its own crew so the vessel couldn't be captured by Britain just weeks after the start of World War II.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/british-treasure-hunters-find-chest-10856208

 

[Tiki Tom]

Ah, more lost Nazi gold! Thanks for posting this. Finding a sunken vessel is difficult enough. Cutting into the hull and removing valuables will really be dangerous and expensive. I just glanced at my wall map and it looks like the water is quite deep in that neck of the woods. And the weather is probably a challenge too. Good luck, gents! I hope to live long enough to see at least ONE crew of treasure hunters find an actual fortune in lost treasure.

I've been fascinated by these quests ever since Mel Fisher became a rich man by finding the Nuestra Señora de Atocha in 1985. But that's more than 30 years ago.

 

[MisterCairo]

I believe that the USA was the only combatant country in WW2 to be richer after the was than before.

Negative. The Canadian economy boomed during and post-war for precisely the same reasons.

 

[BlueTrain]

It sure cost a lot of lives to be richer, then.