Treasure Hunters Find $3bn Sunken British Warship

US treasure hunters have hit the jackpot after they discovered the sunken remains of a British ship they claim carries a platinum value of up to $3bn.

The Sub Sea Research, a company based in the northeastern US state of Maine, discovered the British SS Port Nicholson on the ocean floor 30 miles (50km) off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, the Boston globe reported.

The ship was torpedoed en route from Halifax in Canada to New York. Four crew died and 87 were rescued.

The Sub Sea Research team on the Sea Hunter research ship discovered the wreckage in August 2008. They said it carried platinum bars as part of a payment from the Soviet Union to the US for war supplies.

Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research said he had a video footage showing a platinum bar although none of the bounty has been raised.

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

"There's a good possibility there are about 10 tonnes of gold down there, too, and maybe some industrial diamonds."