First Ever Artefacts Recovered From Titanic’s Sister Ship Britannic After More Than 100 Years

A ship’s bell, navigation light, binoculars, and many other items were recovered from the wreckage of HMHS Britannic, Titanic’s sister ship, which sank in the Aegean Sea during the First World War.

The recovery operation took place in May 2025 with authorisation from Greece’s Ministry of Culture. The objects are now in Athens, where they are being preserved. They will be displayed at the National Museum of Underwater Antiquities in Piraeus, Greece.

The ship lies at least 120 metres below water off the island of Kea in Greece. An 11-member team of specialist divers took part in the recovery. It was the first time that carefully chosen artefacts were retrieved from the wreckage, according to Greece’s Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities.

Among the artefacts were the lookout bell of the ship, a red navigation light from its port side and observation binoculars. Other items retrieved included a porcelain washbasin, ceramic tiles from the Turkish bath, silver-plated serving trays, and interior fittings of the ship’s first- and second-class areas.

The Ephorate published details of the recovery on September 15, 2025. The objects are being prepared for a future public display.

The White Star Line built Britannic as one of three Olympic-class ocean liners. The other two were Titanic and Olympic. Britannic was launched in 1914 and was slightly larger and newer than Titanic.

However, the outbreak of the First World War led to the alteration of Britannic’s intended use, as it was commandeered and converted to a hospital ship used for transferring and taking care of wounded soldiers, thus named HMHS Britannic.

On November 16, 1916, Britannic struck a German mine during its journey from England to the hospital station on Lemnos Island in Greece. It sank in less than an hour.

There were 1,065 people aboard, and 30 died. Some of the victims were killed when two lifeboats were pulled into the ship’s propellers, which were still turning.

Britannic sank over four years after the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, while serving as a hospital ship during the war.

The wreck is located at a depth of more than 120 metres below the surface. Difficult conditions such as the currents, visibility, and fragile nature of the ship made the recovery process challenging.

British historian Simon Mills of Britannic Foundation was responsible for organising the expedition. Professional divers conducted the recovery operation, with supervision from the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of Greece.

The team used closed-circuit diving equipment, which recycles the gas divers breathe. They also used specially designed lift bags to bring the objects up from the seabed.

The divers could not retrieve everything they had planned to collect. Some objects had to be left behind because of their condition or position in the wreck.

After reaching the surface, the objects were put in protective containers and cleaned to remove marine organisms. Initially, they were kept in a place provided by the Ephorate with the assistance of Kea Police Department. Later, the objects were moved to the laboratories of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities in Athens.

Conservation is important for these objects as they have spent more than a century in water.

The objects are expected to become part of the permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Underwater Antiquities, which is being built in Piraeus.

The planned museum will have a section on the First World War, with the Britannic wreck among its main exhibits.

The bell, navigation light and binoculars were used aboard the ship. The washbasin, serving trays and Turkish bath tiles came from its interior.

Visitors to the exhibition would get an insight into the history and operations of the Britannic during the war.

The objects are still being conserved and have not yet gone on public display. Other items remain at the wreck because the divers could not safely remove them.

References: TOI, Times Now World