Judge ends Maine treasure hunter's bid to salvage platinum from shipwreck off Cape Cod

A treasure hunter's effort to salvage what he calls $3 billion in platinum from a World War II shipwreck off Cape Cod has been ended by a federal judge.

Greg Brooks' company Sea Hunters LP is no longer allowed to salvage additional items from the S.S. Port Nicholson, which was sunk by a Nazi U-boat in 1942, U.S. District Judge George Singal ruled Wednesday.

Brooks' treasure hunt had led to a criminal investigation and legal action by investors who paid him millions of dollars. Brooks said he believed the Port Nicholson carried platinum bars from the Soviet Union that were payment to the U.S. for war supplies. He didn't immediately return a message left at his business in Gorham on Wednesday.

The judge also denied an attempt by a group of investors to win recovery rights, claims to what's on the ship if anything is found. The judge wrote that evidence suggests there's nothing valuable to salvage.

The record, the judge wrote, suggests that all that remains is "70-year-old truck tires, fenders and miscellaneous other parts and military supplies."

Brooks said he located the Port Nicholson wreck in 2008. His claim of valuable precious metals aboard led to a splash in the media in 2012, but there were immediate questions about the veracity of it.

The judge's decision was first reported by the Portland Press Herald.