U.S. Ends Legal Battle Against Titanic Salvage Firm Over Retrieval Of Artefacts From Wreck

Titanic Shipwreck — Image Credits: RMS Titanic, Inc./X

The U.S. government has officially ended its legal fight against RMS Titanic Inc. (RMST), the company that holds the rights to salvage items from the Titanic wreck.

The company announced it has no immediate plans for expeditions that could break federal law.

This decision marks the end of a legal battle that has been ongoing for five years. The most recent legal challenge started in 2023 when RMST planned to take images inside the Titanic’s hull and retrieve items from the wreckage.

The U.S. government opposed this, arguing that disturbing the wreck would break a 2017 law and an agreement with Great Britain, both of which protect the Titanic site as a memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the ship sank in 1912.

The U.S. government said that RMST’s plans to enter the wreck or disturb the surrounding debris field would violate laws protecting the Titanic wreck site.

The company then changed its plans, deciding to only take external images of the wreck rather than enter the ship.

The change of plans was made after the tragic 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible, which killed RMST’s director of underwater research, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and four others. Nargeolet was to lead the RMST expedition.

In December 2023, RMST told the court it would not conduct any expeditions to the Titanic in 2025. The company explained that it is carefully considering the legal, financial, and other implications of any future salvage operations.

After this, the U.S. government withdrew its case to block plans. However, the U.S. government made it clear that it could file another legal case if RMST moves forward with new expeditions that could disturb the wreck in the future.

Experts have warned that the Titanic is deteriorating quickly on the seabed, which could make future explorations difficult or impossible.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, who oversees Titanic salvage cases, has said that time may be running out for expeditions to the wreck.

RMST has been the recognised steward of Titanic artefacts since it won the salvage rights in 1994. The company has recovered and conserved thousands of items from the wreck, including silverware and a piece of the ship’s hull.

These artefacts have been displayed in exhibitions, reaching millions of people worldwide.

This is not the first time RMST has faced legal challenges. In 2020, the company tried to recover the Titanic’s radio equipment, which had broadcast the ship’s distress signals.

While a judge initially approved the expedition, the U.S. government challenged it, and the plan was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reference: AP News

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