# Another Titanic Expedition planned 2010



## surfaceblow (Jan 16, 2008)

RMS Titanic Inc. is planning a savage operation to remove artifacts from the Titanic. 

RMS Titanic Inc. is due in U.S. District Court today to begin four days of hearings on the company's claim for a salvage award. Also in court is a competing claim by Douglas Faulkner Woolley, a British citizen, who plans his own salvage operation.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20091026/US.Titanic.Salvage/


----------



## James_C (Feb 17, 2005)

"RMS Titanic Inc. is planning a savage operation to remove artifacts from the Titanic."

Savage is a perfect word to use.
These people are nothing more than money grabbing grave robbers (I can think of much worse things to call them). It's high time we brought in legislation to give such civilian wrecks the same protection as a 'War Grave'.
I think it's time that ship was left in peace and we put a stop to the increasingly morbid curiosity that surrounds it - no more dives or expeditions.


----------



## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

Hear Hear James C. I agree. let the dead rest in peace


----------



## ROBERT HENDERSON (Apr 11, 2008)

I agree whole heartedly with James C. Diving on any ship that is often the last resting place of the people who have lost their lives is no different to robbing graves, which obviously would not be tolerated. Unfortunately greed knows no boundaries.

Regards Robert


----------



## Santos (Mar 16, 2005)

I am afraid that this type of thing wont stop. The demand for information and for artifacts is overwhelming. It would appear ( with no intention to upset our American members ) that the thrust of all this is coming from their direction.

I appreciate that the wreck is collapsing and that if items arn't recovered soon then they will never be recovered. What has to be decided is, ' Is the value of the item recovered measured in historical terms or is it measured in monetary gain ' 

I say if the recovery is for historical reasons then great, if it is for monetary reasons then I would rather it did not happen.

Chris.


----------



## surfaceblow (Jan 16, 2008)

The parent company of RMS Titanic is Premier Exhibitions. Several years ago Premier Exhibitions had a show at the Pittsburgh Science Museum called Bodies the Exhibition. The bodies came from the Dalian Medical University in China and plasticized for the show. 

I do not get a warm feeling having this company display artifacts tastefully.


----------



## steve_ssfrance (Oct 3, 2008)

The history of Titanic is second to none and i myself love it to..I own signitures from past survivors as well as art etc etc etc..Looking at footage of the wreck memorises me titme and time again and i could watch it all day as the bots venture in every cavity look for what hasnt been seen since 1912..In saying that, yes it is a resting place for around 1500 souls and money grabbing greedy individulas should NOT be allowed to revover and sell a single item, i do however feel recovery is important as to keep the history alive/visible in display for us to view as one day as was siad there will be no more wreck but a pile of rusted scrap. I have never seen ant artifacts and i dream to see one day just to get a feel for the time in history that no one will forget.. I think it was disgusting the time when a couple were married on the deck of the Titanic as well as others landing there, its complete disrespect for the lives lost, in saying all of this, lets still send bots to capture the wreck on footage and salvage some items NOT TO SELL but for the sake of keeping the history alive but please respect the poor unfortunate individuals that passed away the day APRIL 15 1912


----------



## James_C (Feb 17, 2005)

Would you dig up your Grandmother every couple of years, have a good search through the coffin and take endless photographs just to "keep the memory alive"?
It amounts to exactly the same thing.
The world has developed a particularly unhealthy interest in this ship and it's time it was stopped.


----------



## doyll (Mar 9, 2007)

Wrecks are graveyards. Diving to look at them is like walking through a graveyard. Taking artifacts is like taking the things we leave on grave of or dear ones.


----------



## Dimple (Oct 25, 2009)

I always think of the terror those poor souls went through, and like to think that they - and their personal property - can be left in peace. Over the years many large ships were lost at sea, and rest at the bottom without interference, yet the fascination for the Titanic never seems to dim. 
I agree, it is a graveyard, there are no lessons to learn from personal affects. Antique shops etc are full of goods, lets leave Titanic alone. Please?
Dimple


----------



## m8ee (Oct 27, 2009)

*Rest/ rust in peace*

After nearly a century in a watery grave, with 1,500+ souls in her hull, why is legacy dominated by greed and fascination? The Titanic sinking was the greatest maritime disaster last century, and any attempt to raise it would be met with global criticism as grave robbing and historical desecration. What about the ill-fated Hindenburg? Achille Lauro or Etoche ( sunk in the Mediterranean Sea and covered in gravel)? I assume that if a ship engineer assessed Titanic, the hull integrity would be severely compromised when lifted, and history will be forever lost on the ocean floor. By April 15, 2012, what remains of Titanic will be permanently lost at sea.
We don't need to add to this tragedy by risking innocent treasure hunters' lives.


----------



## Peter B (Nov 12, 2006)

*Titanic sinking greatest maritime disaster?*

Please understand that I am not looking for a fight here; much less do I want to upset anybody. I fully agree with those expressing their disgust over the plans for "artefact recovery" from the _Titanic_.
I do, however, fail to see how the Titanic sinking was the greatest maritime disaster last century. It is without doubt the most "famous" disaster, but if one counts a human as a human, without concern for race, religion, fame or fortune, there have been far worse disasters in terms of loss of human lives.
Even though the sinking of the German Battleship _Bismarck_ took a toll of over 2,000 lives I can accept that we leave that, and other war-time losses of Naval vessels, out of the equation.

Despite being a war-time loss, I personally view the sinking of the German cruise liner the _Wilhelm Gustloff_ in the Baltic Sea in January 1945 the worst maritime disaster ever. She was a defense-less vessel carrying mostly civilians, and she was deliberately targeted as such. There is no exact figure of casualties, but estimates range from 9,300 till 10,000. They were mostly refugees and mostly children.
Now even if we also keep her out of the equation, as she is a war-time loss, there are other, strictly peace-time, disasters that out-rank the _Titanic_.

On 20 December 1987 the Phillipine ferry _Doña Paz_ collided with the oil tanker _Vector_. The resulting fire and sinking left an estimated 4,341 dead.

On 4 December 1948 the Chinese passenger ship _Kiangya_ blew up and sank in the mouth of the Huangpu River fifty miles south of Shanghai. The suspected cause of the explosion was the _Kiangya_ hit a mine left behind by the Japanese Navy during WW II. The exact death toll is unknown, however, it is thought that between 2,750 and 3,920 died with 700 to 1,000 survivors being picked up by other vessels.

On 6 December 1917 the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada was devastated by the huge detonation of the French cargo ship _Mont-Blanc_, which was fully loaded with wartime explosives, after a collision with the Norwegian ship _Imo_. The collision happened in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2000 people were killed by debris, fires or building collapse and over 9,000 people were injured. This explosion is still ranked as the largest accidental explosion of conventional weapons to date.

Looking outside of the 20th century we find two other disasters, each of which took more lives than the _Titanic_:

On 26 September 2002 the overloaded Senegal ferry _Le Joola_ capsized in rough seas with an estimated death toll of more than 1,800.

On 6 February 1822 the Chinese junk _Tek Sing_ struck a reef near Indonesia and sank, leaving an estimated 1,600 dead.


----------



## James_C (Feb 17, 2005)

Titanic was by no means the greatest Maritime Disaster of the last century - not by a long way.
Google 'Wilhelm Gustfloff' or 'Cap Arcona'.
As for "innocent treasure hunters". you are mistaken, they are *grave robbers*.


----------



## Tmac1720 (Jun 24, 2005)

I can do no better than quote Dr Robert Ballard who found the wreck *"It sunk, get over it!"*

Harland and Wolff's opinion, well they just wished the ruddy thing would go away.

Lets be honest here, Titanic wasn't unique, there were three of the damn things so why all the fuss? (Cloud)


----------



## Thats another Story (Mar 4, 2009)

i think bob ballard's mistake is that he never claimed the wreck of titanic. at that time he had the only mini sub {alvin} that could go that deep. was it the french a few years later that went down and ROBBED artifacts off her?


----------



## Santos (Mar 16, 2005)

John,

Bob Ballard had the means to remove things but he didnt because he believed, and as far as I know still does, that wrecks should be left alone and only viewed as one would view a museum. They are objects to look at and wonder at but not to touch.

Chris.


----------

