The US government is trying to stop a planned expedition to recover items of historical interest from the sunken Titanic more than two months after the Titan submersible imploded near the sunken ocean liner, killing five people. But this legal fight has nothing to do with the June tragedy that gripped the world and served as a reminder of the dangers of deep-sea exploration.
The new expedition is being planned by RMS Titanic, the US-based firm that owns the salvage rights to the world’s most famous shipwreck. The company exhibits artifacts that have been recovered from the wreck site at the bottom of the North Atlantic, from silverware to a piece of the Titanic’s hull.
The US government intends to stop the expedition, citing federal law and an international agreement that treats the shipwreck as a hallowed gravesite.
Who is RMS Titanic?
RMS Titanic, Inc. is an affiliate of Experiential Media Group ‘EMG’, LLC. On its website, the company says that it was granted salvage rights to the wreck of the RMS Titanic by a United States Federal Court order in 1994 and reconfirmed again in 1996.
It says that the court award includes the exclusive rights to recover the artifacts from the wreck site. Using Titanic’s artifacts in concert with scientific data and social history, RMS Titanic, Inc. brings to life TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition.
Legal Battle
The battle in the US District Court in Virginia, which oversees Titanic salvage matters, hinges instead on federal law and a pact with Great Britain to treat the sunken Titanic as a memorial to the more than 1,500 people who died. The ship hit an iceberg and sank in 1912.
The US argues that entering the Titanic’s severed hull — or physically altering or disturbing the wreck — is regulated by federal law and its agreement with Britain. Among the government’s concerns is the possible disturbance of artifacts and any human remains that may still exist.
“RMST is not free to disregard this validly enacted federal law, yet that is its stated intent,” U.S. lawyers argued in court documents filed Friday. They added that the shipwreck “will be deprived of the protections Congress granted it.”
Titanic Expedition
RMST’s expedition is tentatively planned for May 2024, according to a report it filed with the court in June. The company said it intends to take images of the entire wreck. That includes “inside the wreck where deterioration has opened chasms sufficient to permit a remotely operated vehicle to penetrate the hull without interfering with the current structure.”
RMST said it would recover artifacts from the debris field and “may recover free-standing objects inside the wreck.” Those could include “objects from inside the Marconi room, but only if such objects are not affixed to the wreck itself.” “At this time, the company does not intend to cut into the wreck or detach any part of the wreck,” RMST stated.
The company said it would “work collaboratively” with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. agency that represents the public’s interest in the wreck. But RMST said it does not intend to seek a permit.
The Objection
US government lawyers said the firm can’t proceed without one, arguing that RMST needs approval from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who oversees NOAA. The company has not filed a response in court.
But in previous cases, it has challenged the constitutionality of U.S. efforts to “infringe” on its salvage rights to a wreck in international waters. The firm has argued that only the court in Norfolk has jurisdiction, and points to centuries of precedent in maritime law.
RMST reiterated that stance in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, noting that the court granted its salvage rights three decades ago. Since then, the firm said it has recovered and conserved thousands of Titanic artifacts, which millions of people have seen. “The company will continue its work, respectfully preserving the memory and legacy of Titanic, her passengers and its crew for future generations,” RMST said.
Earlier in 2020, the US government and RMST engaged in a nearly identical legal battle over a proposed expedition that could have cut into the wreck. But the proceedings were cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic and never fully played out.
That same year, the US government filed an official legal challenge against the 2020 expedition, which never happened. The firm indefinitely delayed its plans in early 2021 because of complications wrought by the pandemic.
(With AP input)
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