A treasure hunter is claiming that he found a sunken World War II ship which contains $3 billion worth of platinum.
Greg Brooks, the treasure hunter, told BBC that a shipwreck he discovered is the SS Port Nicholson which sunk in 1942.
advertisement
Brooks is claiming that the shipwreck has $3 billion worth of platinum. Even if it did, maritime law would complicate who the billions of dollars in platinum belongs to.
Anthony Shusta, a lawyer who represents the British government, says there is no need to worry about who will get to claim the platinum. He says it is not definite if the ship ever carried platinum.
“We’re still researching what was on the vessel,” Mr Shusta told the BBC news agency. “Our initial research indicated it was mostly machinery and military stores.”
The United Kingdom is planning on waiting for salvage operations to start before they decide if they are going to file a claim on the cargo, he added.
Mr. Brooks is also claiming that he has underwater video footage which proves there are platinum bars in the ship. Mr. Brooks adds there are 30 boxes in the ship which are holding platinum ingots.
Though the treasure hunter has not obtained any platinum just yet, he is making plans for he and his crew to hopefully begin raising the sunken treasure at the end of February.
“I’m going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water,” he said.
Apparently, Mr. Brooks said he did not announce that he had found the treasure for four years since he was waiting until he could negotiate salvage rights.
It seems he may not have waited long enough as ownership rights are still not settled.
