Arrrrrrr! Who's Up For Some Treasure?

Arrrrrrrrr, there be treasure in them thar hills… er water! At least I’m pretty sure that’s what pirate-type people say. That, and a lot of ‘ahoy mateys’, ‘yo ho a pirate’s life for me’, and ‘why is all the rum gone’. Yes, I imagine pirates as a radical cross between a Disney cartoon and Captain Jack Sparrow. Anyways, before I launched into what I’m sure was a super amusing tangent on pirates I meant to post a blog about what it is, besides rum that pirates love most, treasure. And not just any treasure, but x-marks the spot, worth many a gold doubloon treasure.  *There are major bonus points for those of you who actually knew how to spell doubloon before reading this post, because I did not. 

Well, real life pirates exist today but they must share the seas with their more law abiding brethren, the treasure hunter. Treasure hunters like Greg Brooks who recently stumbled upon one of the biggest sunken treasures ever found. However, this sunken ship wasn’t carrying gold when it descended to the depths of Davy Jones’ locker. It turns out that when the British merchant ship set sail in 1942 it was carrying a reported payload of platinum bars worth a staggering $3 billion. The ship was sunk off of Cape Cod by a German U-boat and the platinum was buried under 700 feet of water. 

Photo : Winslow Townson / AP

Brooks is determined to rescue the platinum from its watery grave, but there are many skeptics out there who view it as a fool’s errand. Apparently, Brooks isn’t the first to have looked to loot the doomed ship. Both American and English crews have searched the ship and it is almost certain that they would not have left empty handed. Archeologist Robert F. Marx also professes doubt saying that “the question is how much, if any, platinum is left” now. 

But even if there is platinum waiting to be discovered on the ocean floor, who owns it is still up for debate. It would seem that the old adage of finders keepers may not apply under maritime law. When the platinum was originally loaded onto the ill-fated vessel it was to be a payment from the Soviet Union to the United States for wartime supplies. There could be multiple claims on the cargo from Britain to the US. There is even a dispute as to whether or not there was even platinum on board the ship, a claim that Brooks vehemently denies. He claims video footage of a platinum bar inside the ship surrounded by many boxes which he thinks contain four to five platinum bars each. 

However, since there is no hard evidence either way, we wait. Brooks estimates that he should be ready to start retrieving the platinum by the end of February or the beginning of March after which I’m sure pandemonium will ensue with regards to ownership. We, for one, cannot wait to see what happens, but what do you think? Should the victor keep the spoils? Should Brooks have to share the wealth? We’d love to hear your thoughts!